Before it's too late
by o.O Kumiko O.o
Summary: Something is up with Sakura and Sasuke wants to know what it is. But will the secret Sakura tries hide destroy her relationship with Sasuke and her friends or can Sasuke and the gang do something to help Sakura with her problem before it’s too late?
1. Chapter 1: Dilemma arises

**----------BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE----------**

**This is a new story I made. I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own Naruto or the other characters.**

**Summary: Something is up with Sakura and Sasuke wants to know what it is. But will the secret Sakura tries hide destroy her relationship with Sasuke and her friends or can Sasuke and the gang do something to help Sakura with her problem before it's too late?**

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where the heck is Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei!" yelled Naruto.

"Shut up Dobe!" said Sasuke.

"Who cares about that hag!" said Sai as he laughed to himself, not noticing the secret glare Sasuke sent him.

It's been three years since Sasuke came back from Sound. Naruto had finally fulfilled the lifetime promise he had made for Sakura. Sasuke had defeated Orochimaru and destroyed Sound as well. He also managed to kill his brother. His punishment was not going on any missions or out of the village for the 6 months. But now all of them were all in jounin rank. They were still called Team Seven. The 5th Hokage had arranged things so that Sai could still stay on their team. They didn't have to teach any Genins for now.

Naruto, Sai and Sasuke were waiting at their bridge for Kakashi to arrive. But that wouldn't be for a few hours. Sasuke was the first to arrive as usual, Sai arrived second, and surprisingly Naruto arrived before Sakura.

"Hey Teme, where's Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto as he went up to Sasuke.

"I don't know and I don't care! Now leave me alone" said Sasuke. But deep inside, he has been worrying about her the whole time.

"How can you say that!" yelled Naruto as he got ready to punch Sasuke. Sasuke just dodged it with a little slide to the right. Naruto hit the tree too hard as half his body went through. Sai began to laugh.

"This is a sight to see." said Sai as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"A little help!" cried Naruto. Sasuke sighed as he helped Naruto.

"You're such an idiot" muttered Sasuke.

"What if something happened to my precious Sakura-chan?!" said Naruto.

"I though Hinata was your precious person" said Sasuke.

Naruto stopped his rambling for a bit. Naruto had finally realized his feelings for Hinata and they were now together.

"She's my number one of course. But you should know that Sakura-chan is like a sister to me!"

Naruto began to think what could happen to Sakura to make her late. He soon let his imagination take over. "Sasuke, what if Sakura-chan was kidnapped and being tortured somewhere and we're just standing here doing nothing!" Naruto shook Sasuke a few times as Sasuke pushed him away from him. But Naruto made his worrying worse. He knew cared about Sakura. She was someone very important to him.

She was a friend probably a close friend…

She was someone he could trust…

She was someone he loved having by his side…

She was someone who would stick by him no matter how hard he tries to push her away…

'**And she someone you love…'**

'Who the hell are you?'

'**I am you'**

'How can you be me if I'm me?'

'**-Sigh- I'm your inner self and you love Sakura-chan!'**

'_No I don't'_

'**Uh-huh, sure you don't. Why do you secretly send glares towards Sai when he talks bad about Sakura-chan?'**

'Because he's annoying'

'**There's always an excuse with you. Just admit it; you have fallen for Sakura Haruno!'**

'No I don't!!!'

'**You can't lie to me! I'm you, I know what you feel and what you think and you my good man has fallen for Konoha's cherry blossom…'**

Sasuke didn't know what to say. He did care about her, but he wasn't sure if he loved her.

When he came back from Sound, he was surprise to see Sakura standing in front of the gates with tears in her eyes. He was shocked that she would still be there for him even though he made her go through so much…

**Flashback**

_He watched as the gates of Konoha opened. Behind him were Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Lee, Sai, Chouji, Shino, and Lee. They all tried again for another retrieval mission. To their surprise, Sasuke had agreed to go with them. As they gates opened, Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw a bunch of people crowding the gates, but that wasn't that surprised him._

_In front of them were Hinata, Tenten, Ino, and Sakura. Sakura looked at Sasuke as she took a step closer._

_  
"S-Sa…" Sakura didn't finish as she began to run towards the group. Naruto and the group knew that Sakura was going to hug Sasuke, so they stepped aside._

_But to everyone's surprise Sakura actually slapped Sasuke hard across the face. Everyone's mouth dropped as Sakura yelled at him, punched him on the chest, and cried all at the same time and yet, Sasuke didn't do anything to stop her. _

_  
"How could you do that? How could you leave me that night? You lied to me! You said you didn't remember the first time we talked at that very spot. I grew stronger and I tried to forget about you but I couldn't. And I-"Sakura choked by a cry as she wrapped her arms around him, afraid he would leave again. "And I'm glad your back home safe…I missed you Sasuke-kun…I missed you so much. Please, please don't leave me again. Please, don't leave me anymore" She finished off as she cried. _

_The two of them fell to their knees as Sasuke returned the hug. "I'm sorry Sakura. I promise I won't leave you ever again" Naruto just smiled at the two._

"_I told you I'd bring him back Sakura-chan!" said Naruto as he put a hand on both of their shoulders. Sakura looked up as Naruto mentally smiled. Today was the first time he'd seen Sakura's eyes shine with such happiness for a long time._

_She was back…_

_He was back…_

_Team seven was back…_

**End of flashback**

Sasuke came back to from his memories as he looked to see Naruto went to Sai.

Naruto ran over to Sai. "Sai, what if something worse than that happened to Sakura-chan? What if she's in her house dying because someone attacked her last night?"

Sai stopped as his eyes widened. Even though he always teased Sakura, he does care about her and he will admit to himself that he has a sort of attraction to her.

"Nah, Ugly can take care of herself. She is the apprentice of the 5th Hokage of course." Naruto bit his lip but stopped when a small pebble hit his head. He turned around to see Sasuke nodding his head in front of him.

The three looked to see Kakashi and Sakura walking towards them. He had his arm around her as she just had a sad look on her face.

"Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto as he ran towards him. When Naruto got closer to them his eyes widened. Sakura's eyes were a bit red

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" asked Naruto as he put a hand on her. Even though you couldn't see Kakashi's face, you could tell from his eyes that he was sad, but about what?

Sakura forced a smile.

"Nothing is wrong!" said Sakura as she slowly pushed his hand off her. "Kakashi and I just had to see Shishou for a while. Sorry we're late" Sakura began to walk by Sai, who had a worried look, and Sasuke, who shot her a worried glance as if asking her what's wrong.

"Well, let's start training" said Kakashi as he took out his perverted book. "Naruto, you and Sai spar. That leaves Sasuke and Sakura to go against each other as well."

The four nodded as Kakashi got into his perverted book. The four made a disgusted look as they got into battle stance.

Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other. Sasuke had already activated his Sharingan. He had seen what Sakura can already do. And he knew from experience that he shouldn't underestimate her.

Sasuke looked to see Sakura wasn't at the place where she stood. Damn it, she already started. He looked around as he felt something behind him. He turned and threw a few kunais, but it ended up to be a clone.

Sasuke cursed under his breath as he turned back around to have his face connected to a strong punch. He was sent flying as he could see Sakura running after him. He threw another kunai at her but she quickly dodged it as she tried to land a kick at him. He blocked it with his arm as he punched Sakura in the stomach as he knocked the wind out of her. She bit her lip as she tried to kick him again. He quickly went to the floor as he rolled away. Sakura's foot made contact with the ground as it created a humongous crater.

Before she knew it, Sasuke had tackled Sakura to the ground. The two rolled around before they stopped. Sakura slowly opened her eyes to see Sasuke on top of her, their faces less than an inch or two away from each other. Sakura began to feel her cheeks heat up as she could Sasuke's hot breath on her neck.

Sasuke had opened his eyes and noticed the position they were in and yet, they didn't move at all. He began to blush as well. Onyx eyes stared at green ones.

"**GO IN FOR THE KILL!!!" **cheered inner Sasuke.

**  
"OMG!! Sasuke-kun is going to kiss us!" **squealed inner Sakura

Soon their faces began to move closer.

5 cm

4cm

3 cm

2 cm

1 cm

"SAKURA-CHAN!!! TEME!!!" they two quickly got off each other as they acted like nothing happened.

'**THAT IDIOT!!' ** '**They were so close!!!'**

Naruto and Sai came running towards the two. Luckily their blushes were gone.

"What happened here?" asked Sai as he looked the large crater. Sasuke nodded his head towards Sakura.

"You did this Sakura-chan?!" said Naruto in surprise. Sakura tuned Naruto out as she looked at Sasuke from the corner of her eyes.

'Sasuke-kun and I were about to-'

'**Kiss?!' **squealed inner Sakura. '**But they just had to ruin it'**

'But why would he want to kiss me?'

'**Um well let's see…HE LIKES YOU! No wait scratch that. HE LOVES YOU!'**

'I love him, but what if we're mistaking his action for something else. I mean he if really does love me…then h-he could…'

'**Help us…' **said inner Sakura.

Sakura sadly frowned. Sasuke could never love her. He had shown her that he cared about her but to love her…she shouldn't get her hopes up.

'**You'll never know if he loves you if you don't try and ask him'**

'I want to but…but what if he…' Sakura trailed off.

'**If he doesn't?' **her inner self finished for her

'Yeah'

'**Well then, we going to have to be brave for the village, for Shishou, and for everyone we care about. She told us the way to stop it but it's up to what Sasuke-kun says. He's our only hope'**

'B-But, isn't there another way?'

'**If there was I think Shishou would have told us. She doesn't want us to go through this, but she had to for the sake of Konoha. I'm sorry but this is the only way'**

'I know I have to do it. To have the people I care about safe, I must go through it.'

"I must…" Sakura turned pink as she noticed that she had just spoken out loud.

Sasuke narrowed her eyes. Something was up with her. She's not herself today. Did something happen to her yesterday or last night? Was she given bad news? Did something bad happen to her?

"Sakura" called Sasuke and a voice at the same time.

Sasuke looked to see Kakashi and another man walking towards the group. He had dark blue hair, well more like midnight blue. He had beautiful blue eyes and there was only one thing that could describe him…handsome. But he stood no match to Sasuke's looks.

"Ah! To finally meet you, the lovely cherry blossom of Konoha!" said the man as he went up to Sakura and grabbed her hand. Naruto tried to control himself from punching the man right there. Sai just glared at the man. Sasuke was having the most difficult time controlling himself. He was clenching his teeth as his hands turned into fists. His Sharingan was activated as he tried to control himself not to kill the man in front of Sakura.

Soon all hell broke loose when the man leaned towards Sakura to kiss her…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**DUN DUN DUN!!! **

**What's going to happen next? **

**What is Sakura hiding?**

**Who's that boy and what's his relationship with Sakura? **

**And what does Sasuke have to do with this?**

**This will all be revealed on the next chapter. Everyone please review. I won't update until I get at least 20 reviews. I hope that's not too much to ask. Sorry if it is.**

**-love Kumiko**


	2. Chapter 2: Kaoru makes his appearance

**I couldn't wait any longer, I want to thank all these people for reviewing **

o.O Yumi Kasumi O.o, harunosakua, eternal fire of love, Sakura-Girl 2005, susakuru, NorthernLights25, Dreamergirl92813, PinkxxxReaper, sakura the lover, PinkHairedNinja, loveless, kunoichi, nicole-lorelei, and Yimi Makuya

**Please enjoy this chapter and R&R!**

**Last time on 'Before its Too Late'**

"_Sakura" called Sasuke and a voice at the same time._

_Sasuke looked to see Kakashi and another man walking towards the group. He had dark blue hair, well more like midnight blue. He had beautiful blue eyes and there was only one thing that could describe him…handsome. But he stood no match to Sasuke's looks._

"_Ah! To finally meet you, the lovely cherry blossom of Konoha!" said the man as he went up to Sakura and grabbed her hand. Naruto tried to control himself from punching the man right there. Sai just glared at the man. Sasuke was having the most difficult time controlling himself. He was clenching his teeth as his hands turned into fists. His Sharingan was activated as he tried to control himself not to kill the man in front of Sakura._

_Soon all hell broke loose when the man leaned towards Sakura to kiss her…_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"Don't touch me!" growled Sakura.

"You sound so sexy when you growl" He said as he smiled at Sakura and she couldn't help but blush. But that didn't mean she liked that loser.

'**Kick his ass!' **yelled inner Sakura as she watched the guy lean closer. Before Sakura could do anything, a kunai went flying between them. Sakura noticed the smirk on his lips as he grabbed the kunai and threw it back.

Kakashi closed his book with one hand.

'_So this guy is a ninja…'_ thought Sasuke.

Everyone turned to see Neji and Hinata as Neji grabbed his kunai back and put it back in his pocket. As he walked by he and Sasuke had eye contact.

"Hyuga!" said Sasuke as he looked at him and nodded.

"Uchiha…" said Neji. Sasuke noticed that Neji sounded upset. He went up to Sakura as he grabbed Sakura away from the man.

"Don't touch her, Kaoru!" growled Neji in a voice that only Kaoru and himself could hear. "She's not yours!"

"Yet..." Kaoru said as he smirked. Neji fought the urge to swipe the smirk off his face.

"Sakura-chan!" said Hinata as she hugged Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" asked Naruto as her teammates came up to her. The boys glared at Kaoru as he moved his blue bangs out of his face. On his finger was a silver ring with a cross on it.

"Sakura…" said Neji as he pushed Kaoru. "I'm sorry…" he said as he put a hand on Sakura's shoulders. Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke were surprised. What was going on?!

"There's nothing to say sorry about…" said Sakura.

"Why are you two here?" asked Kaoru as he glared at Neji and Hinata.

"Don't glare at my girlfriend like that! I'm going to kick your ass!" yelled Naruto. Sasuke and Sai held Naruto back.

"And you are?" asked Kaoru.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be the next Hokage, believe it!" shouted Naruto.

"So you are…" said Kaoru as he turned to Neji.

"Again, why are you here?" asked Kaoru.

"As you see I need to talk to Sakura and made sure you didn't do anything stupid with her. Let's go Sakura, Hinata!" said Neji as he pulled Sakura by the wrist. **(A/N: Just to tell you this isn't a NejiSaku fic. They're just really close like best friends and Neji kinda has feelings for her, but he knows that Sakura loves Sasuke so he doesn't interfere with them)**

Sasuke shot a glare at Neji but stopped when he saw Neji looked back at him. The look he gave him, it was a sad look like he was quietly saying sorry. "Hinata-chan, are you coming?" asked Neji. He finally treated Hinata like his own sister.

"Yes…" said Hinata as she gave Naruto a peck on the lips. Before she could leave, Naruto grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him.

"Hinata-chan, what's going on?" asked Naruto. Hinata didn't say anything as she looked away. "Hinata-chan!"

Hinata slowly looked up as she looked at Naruto straight in the eye. She had tears in her eyes. "I-I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me!" said Hinata as she ran to her cousin and left.

"Stupid Hyugas and their clan! There's nothing they can do and-"Kaoru was cut off when Sasuke lifted him up by the collar of his shirt. His Sharingan was on and so was his protective mode.

"Sharingan eh? You must be the last Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke, the last survivor of the Uchiha massacre. You're one of the new legendary Sannin. You were trained under the eyes of the copy-cat ninja, Hatake Kakashi and Orochimaru. You destroyed Orochimaru and Sound itself by yourself and defeated your only brother and got your revenge." said Kaoru. His dark blue eyes stared at his surprised onyx eyes.

"Hn. Seems like someone has been doing his homework" said Sasuke. "And you are?"

"Sinobi Kaoru, the Kage of the hidden cloud village and the only son of Sinobi Gashira." said Kaoru as he turned his hand into a fist. "The son, who's father was killed by no other than the leader of the Hyuga clan, Hyuga Hiashi" Kaoru had a tone of hatred when he said Hinata's father's name.

"What does ugly have to do about this?" asked Sai. Kaoru gasped as he turned around and faced Sai.

"Ugly? Are you blind young man? Sakura is the definition of a celestial beauty! An angel one may say!" said Kaoru. "You must be gay to say that about Sakura-san…"

Naruto muffled a laugh but soon stopped when he remembered something. Before he could ask his question, Sasuke beat him to it.

"What's your relationship with Sakura?" asked Sasuke hoping he wasn't showing any hint that he was mad or something. Kaoru smirked.

"Why do you ask Sasuke-san? Does she mean something to you? Do you like her or something? Do you love her?" Sasuke's eyes widened.

'How did he get behind me? I didn't even realize that he moved!' thought Sasuke.

"She's nothing more to me than just a friend…" said Sasuke. Kaoru stared at him before he smiled.

"Then you better keep it that way," said Kaoru as he turned to leave. "For your stupid village's sake" Soon he disappeared.

'**She's nothing more to me than just a friend?! YOU STUPID BIG LIAR, why did you say that?!'**

Sasuke didn't say anything as he looked at Naruto and Sai. They noticed that Kakashi had been walking to the bridge with Sakura this morning. He would know what's going on! The three snapped their heads towards Kakashi to see him wave at them with a smile before he turned into smoke.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!!!" Naruto's voice echoed throughout the village.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji and the two were far away from Kaoru and the others as he let Sakura walk on her own. They were half a mile away from the Hyuga Compound.

The three didn't say anything to each other. Hinata turned to see that Neji would glance at Sakura every now and then. He felt guilty. She couldn't blame him, she felt the same way. In fact, the whole clan did. She couldn't believe what Sakura was going to have to go through to make sure that their bloodline was safe…

**Flashback**

_Hinata heard knocking on her door early in the morning, too early to be exact…_

_Hinata slowly got out of her futon as she slowly opened the screen door as she rubbed her left eye. She went to see who it was._

_  
"Nii-chan?!" whispered Hinata. It was still dark outside. Neji had a pained look on his face. Hinata knew whatever he had to tell her must be serious._

"_Hinata-chan, change, your father wants us to meet in the meeting room." said Neji as he bit his lip nervously. Hinata quickly walked up to her cousin._

"_What is it Nii-chan?" asked Hinata. _

_  
"I don't know, but Uncle seemed to be panicked about something. As I came to your room, I saw Sakura and Kakashi. Whatever this meeting is about, it has to do something with Sakura…" Hinata could tell from his voice that he was really worried. Especially since Sakura was involved with this. _

_Her cousin seemed to have a warm spot for her pink-haired friend. She wasn't really that surprised. Sakura was a medic and Neji always went on missions. She heard that she was Neji's medic, so of course the two would have gotten along. The two of them were very close, but not as close as she was to Naruto._

_The two arrived to see Sakura and Kakashi sitting in front of Hiashi and Tsunade and the elders. Hiashi saw his oldest daughter and his favorite nephew. "The two of you, please sit down next to us." ordered Hiashi. They nodded as Neji sat down at Tsunade's right side and Hinata sat on Hiashi's left._

"_S-Sakura-chan!" said Hinata. Sakura looked up but they could see that her eyes were red. Neji noticed it as well. Sakura was trembling as Kakashi was there trying to calm her down._

_Hinata looked at her father as he turned to her. He knew what she was asking through her facial expression. He nodded as Hinata got up and pulled Neji with her. Kakashi made room for Neji so he could sit next to Sakura. All the other Hyuga members were in the back._

_  
"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" asked Hinata in a worried tone. She rubbed Sakura's back in hopes of her calming down. Neji just held her hand and stroked it._

_  
"Hokage-sama seemed to go ahead and tell Sakura why she was brought here" said Hiashi in a calm voice._

_Hinata and Neji felt their stomachs turn but not in a good way. If Sakura was crying, then this meeting is not a good one. Sakura sighed as she stopped crying._

"_Well as the Hyuga clan and people outside know the reason for my brother, Hizashi's death, fourteen years ago, representatives from the Lightning Country had come to Konoha to sign a peace accord. This was merely a ruse to get into Leaf to be able to abduct a member of the Hyuuga bloodline. The night the head of the Lightning Country party, Sinobi __Gashira,__ snuck into the Hyuuga stronghold to abduct Hinata. During his escape he was stopped and killed by me. But the lightning Country did not admit he was there to abduct Hinata, but they demanded the body of the Hyuga's main family head as compensation for the loss of their ninja. I was to give in to their demands to prevent further war, but Hizashi stopped me. Hizashi saw the demand for my body and asked that they use his body instead since he was identical to me and they would never know the difference. But the only thing in the way was the seal mark on his forehead, and in order to take it away, the person must die. So we had to kill my own brother, but he did it not because of love, but because by choosing death, it would have been the first choice he could have freely made in protecting Neji, this family and the village." said Hiashi as he looked at Neji. _

_Sakura gave Neji a sad look as she held Neji's hand and squeezed it for comfort._

"_So a year ago, they found out that the body wasn't really Hiashi's. I guess someone saw the real Hiashi on a mission and that person told their village. So now, they made a deal with me. They said they won't ask for Hiashi's body but for Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi instead. They want you guys dead to seal the deal of no war breaking out." said Tsunade. Hinata gasped as she looked at Hanabi who was with Hiashi. Hanabi had a terrified look as she held on to her dad's hand._

"_D-Dad…" muttered Hanabi. "I'm scared…" Hiashi tried to keep a straight face._

"_I know Hanabi…I know…" Everyone watched as Neji stood up, his bangs covering his face as he spoke._

"_Neji…" murmured Tsunade._

_  
"…Hokage-sama, Uncle…" Neji began to speak. "…Let them use my body instead!"_

_The elders were surprised so was everyone else in the room._

_  
"N-Nii-san!" whispered Hinata. _

_  
"Neji-kun…" whispered Sakura. "They knew you would say that…" _

_  
"What?" asked Neji._

_  
"Well you see, last year the cloud village had a new Kage. Their new Kage is Sinobi Kaoru, the only son of Sinobi Gashira. Since he became Kage, he's been planning revenge for his father and came up with the idea to have Hinata's, Neji's, and Hanabi's bodies so there wouldn't be any war. But when he came here yesterday, he happened to see my apprentice, Haruno Sakura and made a new deal. He doesn't want their bodies, but instead he wants Haruno Sakura as his-"Tsunade couldn't even finish the sentence. "And the elders had decided to trade Sakura so they could save you three and the clan's bloodline."_

_Neji growled in anger as he shot back up. "I will not endanger Sakura's life so we and our bloodline could be safe. Do you realized how fucked up that sounds?! Have you guys ever thought what would happen to Sakura? Have you even asked her if it's okay? Did you guys ever think of her first before agreeing to this? Have yo-'Neji stopped when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to get slapped across the face. _

"_Neji-kun, I'm sorry but that's enough. There's nothing we can do to stop it. Kaoru already chosen me to take your place." said Sakura as tears came streaming down her face. _

_  
Hinata and Hanabi gasped as they ran to Sakura._

_  
"Sakura-neechan!" cried Hanabi. "Please don't!!"_

_  
"S-Sakura-chan, I won't let you suffer because of us. Please rethink this!" said Hinata._

_Sakura didn't say anything for a few seconds. "You three are important to me. This is a chance to help you guys. I'm always the weak one. You guys are always there for me, saving me. This is a chance to save you guys."_

_  
"Sakura…" said Kakashi. Sakura ignored him as she continued._

_  
"You guys have someone very special to you who would be upset if something was to happen to you. Like you Hinata, you have Naruto. Without you, he wouldn't be as happy as he is right now. And you Neji, you may not know it, but someone really cares about you more than you know it. Just think about it, you'll probably know who I'm talking about." _

_A picture of Tenten smiling entered his mind._

"_Tenten…" murmured Neji as Sakura smiled._

_  
"And Hanabi, you have a family that cares so much about you and would be hurt if anything happened to you."_

"_Sakura, you have people that care and love you!" said Kakashi. "If you were gone, people would be sad as well…"_

_Sakura listened to Kakashi's words as she choked back a sob. "Shishou, Hyuga-sama, I'll take their place instead. They mean so much to me, and I don't know what I'll do if they died…so please…" Sakura continued to cry._

_Tsunade's eyes were glassy. "Sakura, do you know what will happen to you if you go through this. You could either be tortured or killed!"_

"_I know, Shishou. But if this to make sure the village and the Hyuga clan safe…I'll accept it. I promised myself that I would do anything I could to protect my friends, because that's my way of the ninja!" said Sakura._

_The elders looked at Sakura to see her determined face. Tsunade turned away. Sakura was like a daughter she never had and she was going to be taken away from her. Hiashi looked at Sakura. His eyes were full of respect towards the girl. She was going to sacrifice her life so their clan would be safe, knowing the possible things that could happen to her. She's worthy; no scratch that, more worthy than any noble clan._

_  
"Haruno-sama, our clan is in your debt!" said Hiashi as he bowed to her. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw every Hyuga member bow to her. "Thank you Haruno Sakura…"_

"_But…" a voice spoke behind. "The only way to stop all of this is to have your true love stop the wedding…" Everyone turned around to see a man with midnight blue hair and dark blue eyes. The women in the room blushed at the sight of him._

"_My dear Sakura-san!" said Kaoru as he put his arms around Sakura as he pulled her into a tight embrace._

_  
"Release me!" growled Sakura. Kaoru chuckled as he let go of her. He placed his lips near her ears._

_  
"You sound so sexy when you growl" whispered Kaoru as he moved his hand up her leg. Sakura was shocked as she blushed. Not because she liked him but because that was the first time anyone had felt her up. She felt Kaoru put a ring on her finger._

_  
"What the hell?" she looked to see an engagement ring on her finger. Sakura tried to take it off but realized that it wouldn't come off. _

"_This is a special ring. It will only come off if your true love comes and kisses you on the day of the wedding. Before the clock strikes midnight" said Kaoru as he started to evilly laugh. "You will come to my village in a month. You have that much time to have your true love stop you and show you that he truly loves you before the wedding. The time we get to my village, you will be married to me in three days." Sakura angrily left the room in tears as Kakashi followed right after her._

**End of Flashback**

The three finally reached the Hyuga compound.

"Good day, Hinata-sama, Neji-sama, and Sakura-sama" said the maid. Sakura nodded as well.

"Can you tell my father that we have a guest and we do not want to be bothered" said Hinata. She had to be brave for Sakura.

"Right away Hinata-sama" the maid soon took off. Hinata led the two to the dining room. Maids had already served the food and drinks for the three once they arrived.

"Itadaikimasu!" said the three. Soon they ate their meal in silence. After a while, Neji spoke up.

"Sakura, when are you going to talk to him?" asked Neji. Sakura was about to take a bit of mochi as she answered Neji's question.

"Talk to who?" asked Sakura innocently.

'**He better not be talking about Kaoru!!! I hate him with a passion!'**

"S-Sasuke-san…" said Hinata. Sakura's eyes widened a bit.

"Why should I talk to him?" asked Sakura. She wasn't stupid; she knew why she had too.

"Sakura, he's the one who could help you; I know you love him…" said Neji. Sakura bit her lower lip.

"That may be true. I love him with all my heart but…how can we be certain that he's my true love?" asked Sakura.

Neji smirked. "Because, knowing Uchiha, he's going to stop you before you leave with that bastard."

Sakura looked at her tea. In the reflection, you could see tears forming in her eyes. Her bangs were covering her eyes as she bit her lip.

I shouldn't cry…

I can't…

I have to be brave…

This is for them…

I have to protect the people I love…

"But…what if he doesn't show up the night I'm supposed to leave?" She was trying to block her tears.

"Don't worry; I'll make sure he will! I'll probably need Naruto and Shikamaru's help though. You know how stubborn he is" said Neji. Sakura's eyes widened with hope as she launched herself to Neji. Sakura didn't say anything as she embraced Neji tightly.

Neji didn't say anything as he just simply held Sakura in his arms. Hinata just smiled at the bond they had. They didn't have to say anything and knew what the other was feeling or thinking.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura waved goodbye to the cousins as she left to her apartment. Sakura spent most of the day at the Hyuga Compound. It was probably eight 'o clock right now.

"Sakura…" said a deep voice. Sakura looked ahead to see someone by the gates.

"Sasuke-kun!" said Sakura as she walked over to Sasuke. "Why are you here?"

"What do you think? It's dark and I'm not letting you walk home by yourself…" said Sasuke.

'Especially with that stupid Kaoru still in the village'

'**Oooh, someone's jealous!' **said inner Sasuke.

'I'm not!'

'**Then admit you love Sakura-chan!'**

'I don't love her'

'**Then why do you have thoughts about her being in your arms, inhaling her strawberry scent and-'**

"I don't!" said Sasuke. His eyes widened when he saw Sakura stare at him awkwardly.

"You don't what?" asked Sakura. Sasuke blushed a bit. Luckily it was dark, so she couldn't see his face.

"Nothing never mind…" said Sasuke.

'**Hehehe'**

Sasuke ignored his inner self. Instead he grabbed Sakura's hand and led her somewhere.

"S-Sasuke-kun, where are we going? My house is that way!" said Sakura as she pointed to her left.

"I know…" said Sasuke as he continued to hold her hand.

'**Stop asking questions and just go with it. Probably he wants to show us something or continue what happened earlier this morning!'**

Sakura face resembled a tomato as she remembered the incident that happened this morning.

'He was going to kiss me…'

'**And why do you think he was going to?'**

'Because he wasn't himself?'

'**NO! It's because he likes you a lot! And possible he loves you and he probably is our true love!'**

'What if he isn't?'

Inner Sakura didn't know what to say after that except this. **'I hate you!'**

"Sakura…" Sasuke called out. Sakura turned to see that she and Sasuke were at the playground. He was already sitting on one of the swings so she sat next to him as well.

The two began to swing. Sakura would swing forward as Sasuke would swing back then switch. The two weren't swinging at the same time. Soon Sasuke spoke up.

"Sakura…" He hesitated, "…is everything okay? I mean, you were crying this morning. Did something happen?" asked Sasuke. Sakura didn't say anything at first.

Should she tell him?

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura took a deep breath. She had to find a way to tell him without actually telling him the whole truth. Sakura stared at the engagement ring on her left hand. "I can't tell you the whole story; some of it is...classified."

Sasuke nodded. At least she's telling him something right?

"Well, you see something happened with the Hyuga Clan and Kaoru-san. More like issues and a bad past. And he was planning to kill Neji and his cousins, but Tsunade, Kaoru, and the elders of the Hyuga clan came up with a compromise and I'm helping them…seal the deal."

"Kill Hyuga and Hinata?" said Sasuke.

'**Wait until the dobe hears this! He will be up on that bastard's face!'**

'For once I agree with you'

"But you can't tell anyone what I just told you!" said Sakura as she stopped swinging. "Promise me!"

"Hn…" said Sasuke as he stopped swinging as well. He looked up to see that Sakura was standing in front of him with her right pinky sticking out at him. He sighed. How childish. Well, she was the childish type. He stuck out his pinky as the two entwined theirs together. "I promise…"

Sakura smiled as Sasuke got up. He was half a foot taller than her. Sakura blushed at how close their faces were from each other again. Before they knew it, their faces were getting closer again. Luckily there was no Naruto or anyone else to distract them. Their inner selves were quiet for once as the two enjoyed the moment.

He closed the gap between them, letting his lips brush against hers softly. Sakura blushed as she pressed her lips more firmly on his. Sasuke didn't let it go any further than that and Sakura wasn't surprise that it didn't.

It was just a soft innocent kiss…

Sasuke and Sakura soon pulled away from the kiss. The moon was shining behind Sasuke as it shined on Sakura's face soft porcelain skin. Sakura smiled at him with her genuine smile. There was a trace of pink on her cheeks. Sasuke just had a small smile. It wasn't big as she expected but at least he was smiling instead of smirking.

The two just stared at each other unaware of the jealous dark blue eyes the lingered in the shadows of the night. "Damn that Uchiha…" he said as he left.

Sasuke held her hand as they continued to walk to Sakura's house.

'I can't believe I did that…' thought Sasuke.

'**But you did! My boy is growing up!!!'**

Sakura lifted her left hand to her lips.

'I can't believe he kissed me…' thought Sakura

'**What did I tell ya? He likes you; sooner or later he'll come to you and say, "Sakura, I love you"'**

Sakura ignored her inner self and just enjoyed the moment she had with Sasuke right now.

The two finally arrived at the Sakura's apartment. Most ninjas her age had their own apartments besides Ino, she still stay with her parents and Hinata and Neji stayed at the Compound.

"Um…thank you for walking me home Sasuke-kun…" said Sakura.

"No problem…" said Sasuke as he turned to leave, but was stopped by a tug on the shirt. He turned around as Sakura gave him another peck on the lips.

"Good night…" said Sakura as she rushed inside her apartment. She looked at the window to see Sasuke raise a hand to his lips before smiling to himself and left. Sakura let out a cheerful sigh. She had to tell Ino this!

Sakura opened her bathroom as she began to strip out of her clothes. After half an hour past by, Sakura got out as she wrapped her white towel around her body. The towel clung onto her wet body as it showed off her curves. Sakura dried her hair with another towel as she went to her closet. Sakura slipped into black shorts and a green tank top.

As she headed for her bed, someone grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth quickly to prevent her from screaming. Frightened green eyes looked at her intruder to see only dark blue eyes. The intruder pushed Sakura onto her bed as he sat on top of her.

"I'm going to release my hand from you mouth. If you scream, I will kill you, do you understand?" asked the voice. Sakura's eyes widened. That voice it sounded familiar. Sakura felt the hand leave her mouth.

"AH-"Sakura was punched in the face.

"I told you to shut up!" he said as his hand came and took out duck tape and covered her mouth. "There…" he said as he placed a hard kiss on her lips. Sakura began to get teary from the pain. He tied her arms together and put it behind her. She watched as she heard the man call out some signs and place two fingers on top of her forehead. Sakura felt her charka decrease. This man was going to force her charka out of her so she couldn't do any justus. She never felt this weak before. The last time she did was Sasuke left the village but that was five years ago.

Sakura felt the man move his hands inside her top. Her eyes widened. This man was going to rape her and there was nothing she could do. Sakura soon remembered that the idiot for got to tie her feet. She took the chance to kick him in the balls as she made her escape. As she ran for the door, the man grabbed her by the ankle making her fall to the floor. Sakura kicked him in the face as she quickly got up. Sakura ran for her door as she tried to open it. Sakura turned around so that her back was facing the door as her hands tried to move the knob.

Sakura watched as the man slowly got up. She panicked as she continued to open the door.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji heard knocking on his door as he watched the little intruder enter the room.

"Hanabi…" said Neji as she went to him. "Another nightmare?"

At least twice a week, Hanabi would have her nightmares and would come to his room. He would wait for her to fall asleep as he would bring her back to her room.

"Yes, but Nii-chan, this one was different. It wasn't really a dream but a feeling." said Hanabi.

"What was it?" he asked.

"I had a feeling that something bad is happening to Sakura-chan right now" said Hanabi.

"I'm sure she's fine. I saw Uchiha walk her home and he wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

"Nii-san!" said Hanabi. Neji sighed. Girls…

He activated his Byakugan and searched for Sakura's house. When he did, his eyes widened.

"Shit!" yelled Neji as he dragged Hanabi out of the room with him. He ran to Hinata's room and told Hanabi to tell Hinata to call Sasuke to get to Sakura's house since he lived close by as he ran to Sakura's house.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ring

Ring

Ring

"…Hello?" asked a voice.

"Sasuke-san?"

"Hinata-san? What's wrong?"

"Something is going on at Sakura's house. You live near her, hurry, she in da-"Before Hinata could finish Sasuke hanged up on her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura's looked to see the man get up a slowly walked towards her.

"Come on!" said Sakura as she finally opened the door. Before she could move, the door closed and was locked.

"That wasn't nice Sakura-san…" said the voice as he picked her up by the top giving him a good view. Sakura glared at him as she tried to kick him again. He smirked as he punched her in the stomach and threw her across the room. As she was sent flying, she crashed through her vase and hit the wall. Shards of glass were embedded into her arms as she was bruised and bleeding.

"Be a good girl and I'll go easy on you" Sakura could feel her sweats go down to her ankles. Sakura began to cry. She was going to be raped.

Sakura felt the tape on her mouth come off. Sakura bit her lip. Sakura let the man's hand come near her mouth. She took the chance to bite it as she felt something in her mouth. She still continued to bite his hand. He pulled his hand away as Sakura spit the object away from her mouth. The man got mad as he punched Sakura again in the face.

He pulled Sakura close to him as he forcefully kissed her. He slowly raised her top as well. Sakura quickly snapped her head away from him. He turned and was met by Sakura's forehead as she head butted him so hard to cause him to fly across the room. His and Sakura's forehead was bleeding. Sakura quickly put her sweats up as high as she could. The man got up as and kicked Sakura, making her hit her head on the wall. Sakura saw white spots in her vision.

Soon knocking was heard from outside.

"Sakura! Are you there? Open up, it's Sasuke!" said Sasuke as he pounded on the door.

"This is Neji and Sasuke, Sakura, open the door please!" said Neji.

The figure drove his attention over to the door then back at Sakura. He did a few hand seals. He forced Sakura to look into his dark blue eyes as she fell unconscious.

"I'll come for you again" said the man as he gave Sakura another kiss but this time it was a soft one before poofing out of the room, leaving Sakura unconscious.

Sasuke kicked the door opened and saw the mess Sakura's apartment was.

"Sakura!" Neji called out as he went into the bed room. Sasuke looked around the kitchen/living room/dining room. He saw blood on both sides of the living room. Sasuke stepped around.

Crash

'Broken glass?'

Sakura looked over the couch to see the moon shining on a badly beaten up Sakura.

"Sakura!" said Sasuke as he ran to her. Neji hearing Sasuke ran to them. Sakura had bruises everywhere, blood from her forehead, and shards of glass in her. As Sasuke examined her more, a few things pissed him off to no extent.

Sakura's sweats were only up to above her knees but barely covering her upper part. Her tank top was up to her below her breast as one of the strap slid off her shoulder. There was a red mark around her mouth, showing that she was forcedly kisses.

Sasuke came up with one conclusion…

Whoever came into Sakura's room not only beat her up but possibly raped her as well. As he looked around, something shiny came to view. Neji noticed it as well as he picked it up, a silver ring with the cross on it.

"That bastard!" growled Neji and Sasuke when they realized who did it…

**Flashback**

"_Don't touch her, Kaoru!" growled Neji in a voice that only Kaoru and himself could hear. "She's not yours!"_

_  
"Yet!" Kaoru said as he smirked._

_  
"Sakura-chan!" said Hinata as she hugged Sakura. _

_  
"Sakura-chan! Are you alright?" asked Naruto as her teammates came up to her. The boys glared at Kaoru as he moved his blue bangs out of his face. On his finger was __**a silver ring with a cross sign on it.**_

**End of Flashback**

"You better take Sakura to the hospital Uchiha. I'll tell Hokage-sama." said Neji as he picked up the ring and left the apartment.

'Sakura…' thought Sasuke as he lifted Sakura in his arms and left as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**So what do you guys think? So that's the reason why Sakura was crying. I had to add a little SasuSaku moment. Like I said before, there isn't going to be any NejiSaku. They're just really close and yeah…well anyhoo, please review everyone it will make me happy!**

**-Kumiko**


	3. Chapter 3: Sasuke in denial

**Last Time on Before It's Too Late…**

"_Sakura!" said Sasuke as he ran to her. Neji, hearing Sasuke, ran to them. Sakura had bruises everywhere; blood from her forehead and shards of glass in her. As Sasuke examined her more, a few things pissed him off to no extent. _

_Sakura's sweats were only up to above her knees but barely covering her upper part. Her tank top was up to her below her breast as one of the strap slid off her shoulder. There was a red mark around her mouth, showing that she was forcedly kisses._

_Sasuke came up with one conclusion…  
_

_Whoever came into Sakura's room not only beat her up but possibly raped her as well. As he looked around, something shiny came to view. Neji noticed it as well as he picked it up, a silver ring with the cross on it._

"_That bastard!" growled Neji and Sasuke when they realized who did it…_

_Flashback_

"Don't touch her, Kaoru!" growled Neji in a voice that only Kaoru and himself could hear. "She's not yours!"

"Yet!" Kaoru said as he smirked.

"Sakura-chan!" said Hinata as she hugged Sakura.

"Sakura-chan! Are you alright?" asked Naruto as her teammates came up to her. The boys glared at Kaoru as he moved his blue bangs out of his face. On his finger was a silver ring with cross on it.

_End of Flashback_

"_You better take Sakura to the hospital Uchiha. I'll tell Hokage-sama." said Neji as he picked up the ring and left the apartment._

'_Sakura…' thought Sasuke as he lifted Sakura in his arms and left as well._

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

It was night time, 10 'o clock to be exact. Sasuke sat in the waiting room as he waited for the nurse to come out.

"Mr. Uchiha?" asked one of the medics. Sasuke looked up to see the medic with brown hair and green eyes smiling at him.

"How is she?" asked Sasuke as he stood up from his seat.

"She's fine. We healed all of her injuries and it didn't seem like she was raped." The medic said. "You can see her now. We're not supposed to let visitors stay this long, but since its Sakura Haruno, I'll let you stay as long as you want!" she said with a wink, "since you are her boyfriend!"

Sasuke fought the urge to blush. "Um…I'm not her-"Sasuke looked to see the nurse just skip down the hallway. Sasuke shook his head as he walked into Sakura's room. It was still night time as he entered the room.

The moon shined on Sakura's peaceful face as he walked up to a blue chair and pulled it close to Sakura's bed. He watched as her chest went up then fell down.

"Sakura, If Kaoru was the one who did this to you" whispered Sasuke. "I promise you that he will die by my hands, and then Naruto can have whatever is left of that bastard, followed by Neji…"

Sasuke noticed a tear fall down her face. He slowly wiped it away as he kissed her lips softly. A she pulled back he saw a light smile form on her lips. Sasuke folded his arms on top of each other as he rested his head on them. He took one last glance at Sakura's sleeping face before he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Unknown to the two, their hands slowly moved closer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji had reached Tsunade's office to see Kaoru and her talking.

"You bastard!" growled Neji as he lunged at Kaoru. Kaoru did a smirk that rivaled Sasuke's as he easily dodged angered Hyuga. Kaoru pushed Neji away from him.

"Neji, what's wrong?" asked Tsunade.

"This bastard went to Sakura's apartment, abused her, and then tried or probably did rape Sakura!" said Neji.

Kaoru feigned a hurt look. "Me? I would never do that to a lady!"

"Liar, Uchiha and I found Sakura in her apartment beaten up and possible raped. Sasuke took Sakura to the hospital and I found a ring that belongs to you!" said Neji as he went to reach for his pocket, but found nothing.

"You mean this ring?" said Kaoru as he showed him a ring with a cross on it. Neji had a shocked look on his face.

"H-How did you…"

"Neji, what time did you find Sakura?" asked Tsunade.

"Around nine?" answered Neji. Tsunade closed her eyes.

"Then it's impossible for Kaoru to have done it. You see, he's been in my office for the whole day." said Tsunade. Neji's eyes widened.

"WHAT?!" said Neji as he looked at Tsunade, to Kaoru, then back at Tsunade.

"Neji, why don't you go home and rest" said Kaoru.

"Yeah, it will probably do you good" said Tsunade. "I'm going to go to the hospital and check up on Sakura. I want you two out of my office now!"

The two left the room as Tsunade poofed towards the hospital.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I know you did it!" said Neji as he shoved Kaoru against the wall. He just smiled evilly.

"Maybe you're right. But can you blame a guy. She irresistible and she's really hott! I mean who doesn't want to bang her?" said Kaoru as he let his perverted thoughts come to mind.

Neji let his protective side come out. "If I find out you ever do something to her like that again. I'll kick your ass so hard you'll be in pain for years!!!"

"Now Neji, it won't matter now! By the end of this June, Sakura will be mine. I can do anything to her after that…" said Kaoru with his weird evil laugh.

Neji fought the urge to beat him up, but knowing if he did that might cause Kaoru to break the deal and want Hinata, Hanabi, and his body, or cause him to do something worse to Sakura.

"How did you get the ring?" asked Neji. Kaoru smirked.

"Simple. When you attacked me, I pushed you back. But I took the chance to get the ring from you. It was like taking candy from a baby"

"You're lucky Naruto doesn't know what happened yet!" said Neji as he walked away while muttering something about Kaoru, Naruto, Rasengan, and grave. Kaoru just smirked as he walked the other direction.

"I have nothing to worry about. In time everything will go my way in the end!" said Kaoru as he laughed evilly. He soon coughed. "Man, I need to work on my laugh…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tsunade walked into the hospital as went to the front desk.

"What room is Haruno Sakura in?" asked the Hokage.

"She's in room 301" said a medic "But she has a guest with her."

"A guest?" repeated Tsunade.

"Yup" said the medic as she giggled. "Her boyfriend! They're the most adorable couple I have ever seen." Tsunade raised an eye brow as she walked to room 301 with the medic following her. There she saw Sakura sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face. On her right side was a sleeping Sasuke. His arms were folded with his head on top of them. But the thing that got to her was that Sasuke's right hand was entwined with Sakura's left. There was a small smile on his face.

Tsunade smiled at the scene as she took a picture.

'Sweet blackmail!' thought Tsunade. Tsunade looked at Sakura's left hand to see the cursed engagement ring Kaoru had given her. She frowned as she saw it sparkle in the night.

"Let's leave the couple for now…" said Tsunade. The medic got a better look at the pair.

"OMG, that's Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura! I knew they'd get toge-"Tsunade covered the annoying medic mouth with her hand.

"Let's go!" said Tsunade as she pushed the medic gently outside. Tsunade put a hand on the door handle as she took another look at the two. "Maybe you are the one who can help her…" mumbled Tsunade as she gently closed the door.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**The next morning…**

Sakura was awakened by a loud voice. She couldn't open her eyes but listened instead.

"Kaka-sensei! That's not fair! Why did Sasuke get to stay with her the whole night?" complained Naruto. "Who knows what he could have done to her!"

A loud bonk in the head was heard.

"I didn't do anything to her, you idiot!" said Sasuke.

"Yeah right!" argued Naruto. "Then why did I see you guys holding hands?!"

Sakura felt her heart beat a bit faster.

'Sasuke-kun and I were holding hands?' thought Sakura.

'**See I told you! He likes you! He likes you!'**

'Whatever…'

Sakura decided to open her eyes.

"Lower your voices, the princess is awake" said Kakashi. Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Sakura let her eyes get used to the light as she vision became clear.

In the room was Kakashi as he was leaning against the wall, reading his book. Naruto was in the room glaring at Sasuke who returned the glare back ten-folds. Sai was just drawing in his drawing pad.

"Sakura-chan!" cried Naruto as he launched himself at her. "I was so worried about you! I heard you were attacked in your apartment. I promise I'll get revenge on him!"

"I was attacked?" asked Sakura.

Sasuke stared at her weirdly. 'She doesn't remember?'

"Yes you were…" said another voice. Everyone looked to see Neji, Tenten, and Lee enter the room.

"Sakura-san!" cried Lee as he lifted a bouquet of lilies in front of her. "Neji-kun told me the news and I got flowers as fast as I could."

Sakura only giggled a bit as she smiled at him. "Thank you Lee-san. They're wonderful"

"You doing okay?" asked Tenten as she looked at her pink-haired friend worriedly.

"I'm doing fine"

"So you don't remember what happened last night?" asked Kakashi. Sakura innocently shook her head.

"No Kaka-sensei. All I remember last night was walking home from Neji's and Hinata's house after we had dinner. Then I saw Sasuke as he walked me home. We hung around the play ground…" Sakura looked up at Sasuke to see a tint of pink on his cheeks. Sakura mentally shook her head, must be her imagination. "We talked for a bit then he took me home. I entered my house and took a shower then after that it's all a blank."

Everyone left Sakura later when Tsunade came and kicked them out. Kaoru entered the room with the Hokage. Sasuke and Neji saw Kaoru with the Hokage. Kaoru had a smirk on his face as he closed the door.

Neji and Sasuke glanced at each other as they whispered to each other. "What did Hokage-sama say when you told her?" asked Sasuke.

"She said it was impossible for Kaoru to have done it, he had been at meeting the whole day and when tried to show them the ring, I couldn't find it. But he had it in his hand." whispered Neji. "But I know it was him, he even confessed it to me"

"That bastard…" cursed Sasuke. The two continued to talk unknown to them that a certain copy-cat ninja was listening to the whole thing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So Sakura, you don't remember anything from the time you were attacked by the time Sasuke and Neji found you?"

Sakura shook her head.

"No Shishou, I don't remember a thing..." Sakura glanced from Tsunade who was writing this down on her clipboard to Kaoru who just smiled at her. Sakura smiled weakly not trying to be rude. But something bugged her when she looked at him. She had a feeling he had to do something behind her attack.

Sakura was sitting on the side of her bed in her regular clothes.

"I'll be back to get the release papers signed!" said Tsunade. "Kaoru will watch over you for now." Sakura and Kaoru nodded as she left the room. Sakura watched as Kaoru walked over to her bed and sat down on the side.

"Sakura-san…" said Kaoru softly as he cupped her cheek with his hand. Sakura looked at him with surprised. "I'm really sorry…"

"Sorry about what?" asked Sakura. Kaoru frowned.

"I-I was the one who attacked you…" said Kaoru. Sakura's eyes widened. Before Sakura could ask why, Kaoru continued. "I was pissed and jealous…"

"Of what?"

"I-I was going to your house to visit you but as I was walking, I saw you and Sasuke-san at the park. I saw what you guys did. Sakura-san, you may not know it, but I really like you and possibly if we get to know each other more, my crush on you might turn into love. Please forgive me of my actions. I just want you to_ trust _me" said Kaoru.

Something about his voice was so hypnotic, but Sakura could tell he was sincere as she smiled at him.

"A-alright…" said Sakura hesitantly. He looked up at her with his dark blue eyes.

"Really?!" said Kaoru as his eyes sparkled. Sakura couldn't help but blush. Sakura nodded.

"Thank you Sakura-san!" said Kaoru as he hugged her tight. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Huh? Oh sure…" said Sakura nervously. Kaoru didn't seem like an ass right now.

"What is Uchiha Sasuke to you?"

Sakura's green eyes widened with shock.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto, Neji, Sai, Lee, and Sasuke were all at Ichiraku Ramen as Naruto was waiting for his order of miso ramen. Neji and the others had ordered beef instead. Tenten had left the boys to get Ino and Hinata so they could visit Sakura.

Sasuke was kinda spacing out when he remember what he saw when he woke up this morning.

**Flashback**

_Onyx eyes slowly opened as he saw that he was in the hospital. He looked up to see Sakura still asleep. He felt his hand touch something hard, like silver. He looked to see a ring, but not just a ring, an engagement ring._

_Sasuke had a pained look on his face as he slowly separated his hand from Sakura glaring at the ring on her soft fingers._

**End of Flashback**

Was Sakura getting engaged to someone?

"Sasuke"

Did she really love someone else?

"Sasuke!"

When was she going to tell her friends?"

"Sasuke!!"

When was she going to tell the team?"

"Sasuke!!!"

When was she going to tell him?

"TEME!!!!" yelled Naruto in frustration. People inside and outside the Ichiraku Ramen was staring at Naruto who was yelling at the now startled Sasuke.

"What do you want dobe?!"

"You weren't paying attention to me. I was asking you a question!"

"Hn…"

Naruto just smirked

"Sasuke Uchiha!" yelled Naruto in his loud voice. People had stopped as walked closer to the shop to hear what was going on. "Do you like Sakura-chan?" yelled Naruto. Sasuke's eyes widened as everyone waited for Sasuke's answer.

After a couple of minutes, Sasuke finally answered Naruto's question.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sasuke is just a close friend. He's my teammate…." Sakura stopped at that. Kaoru smirked. He knew Sakura was hiding something else.

"So you don't like him more than a friend? You know like a crush or a lover?"

Sakura blushed. Her cheeks matched the color of her hair. "I-I…"

Kaoru chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes. But Sakura-chan…" Kaoru started to stroke her soft pink hair. "Why do you love him when you can have me?"

Sakura didn't say anything. She stood up and looked outside the window. "It's really hard to explain." said Sakura. The two didn't notice the door slightly opened.

"It's just that I've known Sasuke-kun so long. I had a crush on him ever since I was little. Every girl did. I was a fan-girl at first. But when I put into his team, I started to like Sasuke-kun not just because of his looks, but for what he is. Over the years, we've been a team, I realized that the feelings I had for him wasn't just a crush but true love. But when he left the village, I still loved him; I even promised him I'd wait for him. Other girls that claimed they loved him forgot about him and finally moved on. But I didn't. And when he came back, it was the happiest day of my life. I never gave up my love for him…and I never will" Sakura finally finished as she still looked outside the window, unaware of the hatred Kaoru had in his eyes.

"I see…he really means a lot to you. It pains me to tell you this but…"

"But?" Sakura turned around to face him.

"You see I asked Sasuke what he thought of you and he said that he doesn't feel the same way you do. He only thinks of you as a friend and nothing more." said Kaoru.

Sakura's body froze.

'S-So that kiss last night didn't mean anything to him at all?' Sakura was in the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan! But it is what he said, even ask your teammates, that loud blonde and the brunette" said Kaoru has he hugged Sakura. "But…I'll always be here for you…"

Sakura nodded as she slowly pushed Kaoru away from her. "Thank you Kaoru; you're a nice person…" Kaoru mentally frowned. That was not what he was expecting. He didn't want to lie to her. He knew Sasuke had feelings for her as well, but this was the only way to claim her as his own.

"I knew Sasuke-kun…would never love me or even like me like that. To him we're just friends…" whispered Sakura.

'**Sakura…I…'**

'I told you, didn't I? I knew it right from the start…'

'**I'm sorry…'**

Sakura began to have tears in her eyes. Soon the door opened to reveal Tenten, Hinata, and Ino.

"Forehead-girl!" cried Ino as she launched herself on Sakura. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" said Sakura. Ino noticed the guy in the room as all the girls beside Hinata blushed. Hinata just glared daggers at him.

"Hello, I'm Sinobi Kaoru. And you are?"

"I-I'm Ino, Yamanaka Ino…" said Ino as blushed at the sight of him. Tenten had the same reaction.

"And your friend with the buns?"

"Hello, I'm Tenten…"

"It's a pleasure to meet you two. Hello Hinata-san"

"Hello…" said Hinata rudely.

"Well I must go…I'll see you soon" said Kaoru as he gave Sakura a soft peck on the cheek. The girls watched as he closed the door behind him.

"WHY!!!" cried Ino. "Why must Forehead-girl always get the hott guys?"

"Ino, you have Shikamaru a-"Tenten stopped talking when whimpering was heard in the room. The three looked to see Sakura on the floor. Her arm was hugging her knees as she covered her face with them.

"S-Sakura-chan!" cried Hinata as she quickly went on the floor and hugged Sakura. Sakura clung on to Hinata's shirt as she let her tears out.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" asked Tenten.

"I-I-It can't be done!" cried Sakura.

"What can't be done?" asked Ino.

"Hinata, t-there's nothing we can do anymore. Sasuke can't help me anymore…" cried Sakura.

"What is she talking about Hinata?" asked Ino.

"Do you guys promise to keep a secret?" said Hinata. She didn't stutter. Whatever the secret is, it must be very big. Tenten and Ino nodded. Hinata sighed.

"Well you see…"

Hinata began to tell them what has been going on. When she finished Tenten and Ino had revenge in their eyes.

"I can't believe I thought he was hott!" yelled Ino as she pounded on the wall.

"I'll show him why I'm called the weapon mistress!" Tenten said with a deadly voice.

Tenten looked the cursed engagement ring as she tried to pull it off.

"It's no use…" said Sakura.

"What?"

"The ring will only come off when my one true love comes to stop the wedding. We all thought that Sasuke-kun was my true love. But he's not. I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. I feel so stupid to really think that Sasuke felt the same way I did. I was so damn stupid!" With that a hole was created in the wall of room 301. People below scream of broken pieces of the wall fell.

Ino frowned sadly for her friend. Ino got up and bent down in front of Sakura. She moved her hands to move away the bangs blocking Sakura's eyes. "You'll never know unless you ask him. Will you really believe someone if they told you that Naruto hated ramen or that Tenten loved Neji?

"Hey!" said Tenten as she blushed. Ino just ignored her.

"You wouldn't know it until you ask them. So don't give up just yet. Who knows, Sasuke might surprise you" Sakura looked up as she flung herself on Ino, as the two fell on the floor.

"Ino-chan!" cried Sakura. Ino's blue eyes widened. That was the first time she heard Sakura call her that in years. Ino just stroke Sakura's hair in comfort.

Ino didn't know what to say to Sakura anymore. To sacrifice her freedom so that her friends and a bloodline would be safe, Haruno Sakura was really something.

"D-Don't worry Sakura-chan, we'll help you through this…" said Hinata.

"Together…" said Tenten. Sakura needed them more than ever. They owe her that much for all the things she did for them.

"Let's have a girls' day just the four of us. No boys, no dilemma. Just peace and relaxation" said Ino. "It will be my treat for you Sakura. We'll all have a sleepover at my house and stay up as late as we want. But before that we will go shopping and treat Sakura like a queen for a day."

"You don't have to" said Sakura.

"I want to! What do you guys say?" asked Ino.

"Let's go!" said Tenten as she lifted Sakura up.

"Yes, let's" said Hinata.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This was a bad idea Ino…" whispered Tenten.

"W-We were supposed to make her happy not make her cry…" said Hinata.

"Hehehe?" Ino didn't know what to say. The three looked down to see their favorite pink-haired friend crying her eyes out. The girls came back from shopping and rented a few movies to watch.

"Don't listen to him Sango!" cried Sakura as piles of tissue were surrounding her. "Miroku doesn't love you at all! That kiss meant nothing to him! It's all lies. Marry Mori to get revenge!!!" A pillow was thrown at the screen.

"Who rented the movie again?" asked Tenten as the girls sweat dropped at Sakura's behavior towards the movie.

"I had Shikamaru and Naruto picked it" said Ino. "I told them to a good movie"

"I guess it would be good if we didn't hear Sakura's crying and yelling during the first half of the movie." said Tenten.

"But I guess the movie reminds her of her situation." said Hinata. "It's about a girl named Sango who's deeply in love with a guy named Miroku but finds out that her parents put her in an arranged marriage with another guy named Mori. Miroku kisses Sango and tells her that he loves her. But she has a chance to not get married to Mori when she asked Miroku if he loves her. But he says no and she ends up going to her wedding. Before Mori and Sango can kiss each other so they could seal the wedding. Miroku comes and tells Sango that he truly does love her and now it's up to her to decide. Go with Miroku who her heart is crying for or go to Mori who makes her sad…"

Ino and Tenten nodded their heads.

"Well I guess the arrangement thing is similar to Sakura's predicament." said Tenten

The three watched to see that Sango kisses Miroku instead. The screen soon turned black.

"Glad that's over…" said Ino. Soon crying was heard again. They looked to see Sakura staring at a picture of Sasuke.

"Why Sasuke, do you like tormenting me?!"

"Forehead-girl!" Ino slapped Sakura across the face. "Get a hold of yourself. Maybe Kaoru is lying! Sasuke does like you, I can tell! You just need to give it a chance! Give him a chance" Sakura didn't say anything as Ino thought she said the wrong thing.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Sakura stood up as she turned and faced the girls with a straight face.

"I won't give up! Not yet!" said Sakura.

'**SHANNARO!!!'**

"That's my Sakura!" cheered Tenten.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night, the girls were asleep, well, more like Tenten, Hinata, and Ino. Sakura stared up at the ceiling as she went over her thoughts.

Sakura lifted her left hand and stared at the ring. Sakura tried to slip it off her finger but it was no use.

'Damn you Kaoru'

She didn't know if she should hate him or trust him like she said she would.

'I'm so confused…" Sakura whispered softly. "I'm wondering Sasuke-kun, are you thinking of me?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke couldn't sleep, not after what he learned today.

**Flashback**

"_What do you want dobe?!"_

"_You weren't paying attention to me. I was asking you a question!"_

"_Hn…" _

_Naruto just smirked_

_  
"Sasuke Uchiha!" yelled Naruto in his loud voice. People had stopped as walked closer to the shop to hear what was going on. "Do you like Sakura-chan?" yelled Naruto. Sasuke's eyes widened as everyone waited for Sasuke's answer. _

_After a couple of minutes, Sasuke finally answered Naruto's question. A soft yes was heard._

_  
"What did you say?" asked Naruto with an extremely large grin. "I couldn't quite hear you…" Sasuke inwardly growled. Of course that idiot heard him. Sasuke looked around to see people inside and outside the shop moved closer to hear his answer._

_  
"Of course I like her" Sasuke said dumbly. Everyone stared at him while shaking their heads. That was not the answer they were looking for._

"_But, do you love her?" _

_Everyone looked to see Neji looking at Sasuke with a serious face._

_Sasuke didn't say anything at all. Neji glared at him as he pushed Sasuke up against the wall._

_  
"If you're toying with her feelings I'll kill you. She was hurt by you so many times; I will not let her get hurt by you again!" growled Neji. Naruto and Lee had a shocked look. Ayame covered her mouth in shock. Her father and Sai just watch the scene._

"_I only love her like a sister" lied Sasuke. "And she doesn't love me. I know it" muttered Sasuke. But everyone heard him._

_  
"What?!" said Naruto. "What gave you that idea?"_

_  
"She's getting married, to some guy. I saw the engagement ring this morning at the hospital. She chose someone else. It doesn't matter anyways" said Sasuke. _

_Neji dropped Sasuke to the floor._

"_You really are stupid" scoffed Neji_

"_What!" Sasuke glared at Neji._

_  
"Sakura loves you, she's being put into an arranged marriage" Everyone gasped._

_  
"What?!" said Naruto as he stood up from his seat._

"_How do you know this?" asked Sai._

"_Because, I'm part of the reason why she's getting married"_

_  
"Oh no! Neji-kun, don't tell me you're getting married to Sakura-san?!" screamed Lee_

_  
"No Lee" said Neji with a deadpan face. 'Sakura's getting married to that…Kaoru"_

"_He's the one who attacked Sakura!" said Sasuke. "Why would she get married to him and-"Neji cut him off by telling them the reason why. Ayame and her father decided it was best to leave the five friends alone. Neji didn't tell them about the real reason why Sakura was going to marry Kaoru. He just told them a little white lie._

"_Sakura is marrying Kaoru because he loves her and he was going to get married to um…Hinata at first." Neji noticed Naruto's reaction as he continued. Sakura came and told him that Hinata was in a relationship and would take Hinata's place in the marriage. Sakura didn't like him at first but she's slowly getting used to him. So she has this whole month to think if she wants to get married to him. But he said he will stop the wedding when the person that truly loves her comes to stop the wedding before the clock strikes midnight on their wedding day. _

"_This sounds like a fairy tale…" muttered Sai._

"_You have this whole month to stop her Uchiha. You're the only one who can stop the wedding, because I know you love her! But, if you truly believe you don't love Sakura, then you wouldn't care if Kaoru took Sakura as his bride by the end of this month." Sasuke didn't say anything as he walked away._

**End of Flashback**

'Do I really love Sakura?'

'Am I really her true love?'

'**Was this boy truly in denial?'** inner Sasuke chuckled.

'Shut up! Please leave me alone!'

'**It's true. You love her.'**

'No I don't!!'

'**Then why did you kiss her when we went to the playground?'**

'I wasn't myself…'

'**Why did you get so mad when you found out Kaoru attacked her?'**

'Because she's my friend and I care…'

'**Why did you felt angry and jealous when you saw the engagement ring?'**

'….hn' was all he could think of.

'**Must you always pull that one out?'**

Sasuke ignored his inner self and got up from bed. He walked to his table and picked up a recent picture. It was a picture of him and Sakura on her birthday.

Everyone went out to the Spring Festival for Sakura's birthday and Sakura wanted a pink bunny. He won it for her in one of the games. Sakura asked him to give the bunny a kiss and he did as he blushed. He watched as Sakura smiled and had the bunny kiss her. He smirked when he realized what Sakura was thinking. So he kissed her on the cheek whispering happy birthday. Unknown to the two Kakashi had taken pictures and made copies. He gave one to Sakura and Sasuke as a gift.

Sasuke put the picture down as he went back to his bed and sighed. This was so confusing…does he love Sakura?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**What will Sasuke do? I really don't know either. Lol, Neji didn't feel like he should tell Sasuke the real truth about what's going on. But he'll find out sooner or later. The girls aren't really doing a good job in helping Sakura and Kaoru seems to be bi-polar. He'll attack Sakura one moment and then be nice to her the next. Well I hope you guys like this chapter. I tried to make it a bit funny, but I realized I'm not that that good with humor. But I'm really good at romance/drama. Well please review everyone.**

**-Kumiko**


	4. Chapter 4: Stalking

**I finally updated this story! I know everyone's been waiting to see what will happen. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Naruto would freakin notice Hinata, and my dreams of Sakura joining Akatsuki as a sign of alliance would happen. Lol well anyways, let's go on with the story**

**Last Time on Before it's too late…**

_Sasuke ignored his inner self and got up from bed. He walked to his table and picked up a recent picture. It was a picture of him and Sakura on her birthday._

_Everyone went out to the Spring Festival for Sakura's birthday and Sakura wanted a pink bunny. He won it for her in one of the games. Sakura asked him to give the bunny a kiss and he did as he blushed. He watched as Sakura smiled and had the bunny kiss her. He smirked when he realized what Sakura was thinking. So he kissed her on the cheek whispering happy birthday. Unknown to the two Kakashi had taken pictures and made copies. He gave one to Sakura and Sasuke as a gift._

_Sasuke put the picture down as he went back to his bed and sighed. This was so confusing…does he love Sakura?_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura woke up at the morning sun shined on her. Sakura let out a long yawn as she looked around. Tenten and Hinata were still asleep, but Ino wasn't in the room. Sakura quietly got up and walked downstairs to the kitchen to see Ino making breakfast.

"Good morning dear!" said Ino as she patted Sakura on the head. Sakura rolled her eyes as she sat down at the table.

"What are you making Ino?" Sakura asked.

"I'm making blueberry pancakes! Your favorite" said Ino with a smile. "How do you feel?"

"I feel better. Thank you Ino!" said Sakura as Ino handed her a plate of pancakes. Ino got herself a plate as well and sat down.

"Are Tenten and Hinata still sleeping?"

"Yeah, I don't blame them. We stayed up really late and-"Sakura was cut off when the door bell rang.

Ino looked at the clock. It was 9 am. "I wonder who that could be?" muttered Ino as she went to open the door.

"Hello?"

"Yamanaka-san!" said a voice. "I'm here to see my fiancé!" the man came and let himself in.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW WHERE I LIVE?!" Ino screeched. Running was heard upstairs as Tenten and Hinata ran to the hallway.

"What happened?" asked Tenten and Hinata as they had their kunais in hand.

"What's going on?" Hinata asked. Ino had flames in her eyes as she stomped into the kitchen.

"DON'T TOUCH MY BEST FRIEND, YOU STALKER!" Ino yelled. Hinata and Tenten followed her to see Sakura eating her pancakes as she ignored the intruder.

"Sakura-chan, my love, I came for you!" said Kaoru as he sat down next to Sakura. "How are you this fine morning?"

Sakura stopped eating and turned her head to the left. She stared at Kaoru before answering. "I was doing well before you came" Sakura said in a cold tone before continuing her breakfast. Apparently she's been taking tips from Sasuke.

Kaoru's expression was to die for as he turned white. He ran to the nearest corner of the kitchen. He had a depressed look on his face as a gloomy aura surrounded him.

'What a drama king…' the girls thought. Sakura sighed at Kaoru's immature actions.

"Kaoru, what do you want?" Sakura asked as she turned her chair around to face him. Kaoru didn't say anything as he continued to trace the floor.

"Well, I was going to ask you on a date for the whole day. We can have a lunch date, then go where ever you want then have dinner later at that new restaurant I saw in town. Then I can walk you home." Kaoru said. His cheeks turned pink.

Sakura didn't say anything after that. She didn't even know what to say. The girls looked at Sakura to Kaoru to Sakura again.

Kaoru took the silence as rejection. "I-I understand Sakura-chan…" Kaoru got up as he slowly walked to the door. "I guess you'll never see me the way I see you. My heart is broken once again…"

Hinata rolled her eyes. You've got to be kidding. It's not like Sakura would fall for that pathetic act.

"Kaoru wait!" Sakura said as she pulled on his shirt. Kaoru stopped walking as he turned his head to look down at Sakura. "Um…I'll go with you on that date…" Sakura said as if regretting her decision.

"Really Sakura-chan? I promise you won't regret this date!" said Kaoru as he jumped up in the air. He quickly gave Sakura a peck on the cheek. "I'll pick you up at 11:30! Will you still be at Yamanaka-san's house?"

"Yes" said Sakura.

"Okay I'll see you then!" Kaoru soon ran out of the house.

"INO!" another person ran inside the house.

"Who is it now!" yelled Ino as she went to the front of her door. "Shika-kun?"

"What's wrong Ino? I heard you scream from my house. So I ran here as fast as I could" Shikamaru apparently lived close enough to hear her scream.

"That stalker Kaoru barged into my house!" Ino said as she let Shikamaru in.

"Who's Kaoru?" Shikamaru asked as they walked back into the kitchen.

Ino sighed as she sat down on the chairs. Everyone was eating. "Kaoru is Sakura's fiancé…" Ino offered Shikamaru some coffee.

"Oh…" he said as he took a sip. Soon his eyes widened as he accidentally spit out his coffee. The hot liquid had fallen on Tenten's face since she was across from him.

"My face! It's burning!" Tenten cried out.

"S-Sorry!" said Shikamaru.

"Don't worry Tenten, I'll heal it" said Sakura as she moved to help Tenten.

"You're getting married?" asked Shikamaru to Sakura. Sakura and he were really close, like Sakura was a little sister to him.

"Yeah…" was all Sakura said.

"But what happened to Sasuke? I thought you liked him…" Sakura's eyes widened a bit but didn't say anything as she continued to heal Tenten. Ino just glared at him.

"Why did you say that, you idiot?!" Ino whispered as she grabbed her boyfriend close to her.

"I honestly didn't know!" said Shikamaru.

"It's alright, this date doesn't mean anything. It's just a friendly date."

"I can't believe you said yes!" said Hinata.

"I know!" Tenten agreed.

"I felt bad" said Sakura.

"He was faking it!" said Ino. Sakura sweat dropped. Was she seriously the only person who couldn't tell?

"Eh, I guess it's too late to cancel the date huh?" Sakura scratched the back of her head.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru said.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke, Naruto and Sai had left from eating at Ichiraku ramen and decided to walk around town.

"I can't believe Sakura is engaged to that dork" Sai said breaking the silence.

"Hn, like I could care less" Sasuke said, but deep inside he was mad and upset. Just this morning he realized that he was in love with her, yet Sakura is getting engaged.

"Someone's in denial!" Naruto taunted.

"Shut up dobe!" Sasuke said.

"You're going to let Sakura-chan marry that idiot?" Naruto said.

"It's not my choice, it's hers" said Sasuke. "Besides, if it wasn't for Sakura, Hinata would be the one marrying him"

"Well, Sakura has this whole month to think if she wants to marry him. That's what Neji-san told us. Luckily Kaoru doesn't have a chance with Sakura" said Sai. "If Kaoru ever asked her on a date or something, knowing Sakura she'd say no immediately!"

"Yeah" said Naruto.

"Hn…"

The three walked passed a little café as Naruto looked inside. Naruto immediately pressed his face on the window. Sasuke and Sai stopped walking when they realized that Naruto wasn't behind them.

"Dobe, what's wrong?" Naruto didn't say anything as Naruto let his imagination take over once again.

'Kaoru is on a date with Sakura-chan! This isn't good! Soon Sakura will go on more dates, and then Sakura-chan will choose to be with him, get married, and leave Konoha to live in the Cloud village! I can't let that happen!' Naruto screamed in his mind.

"Dickless, what are you looking a-"Sai's face fell as he saw the couple in the window right in front of them.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked as he looked inside as well. Everyone's eyes became like saucers as they stared at a couple in the café. They could see a woman with pink hair. Her back was turned to them. In front of her was a man with midnight blue hair.

"T-T-That's Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he was very shocked.

"And Kaoru!" said Sai

"What the hell is going on!" muttered Sasuke.

"Someone is jealous!" Naruto teased. Sasuke snapped his head to Naruto.

"I…am…not…jealous!" Sasuke said as his teeth grinded. Sasuke looked back to see that Sakura had gotten up from her seat, leaving Kaoru at the table alone. Kaoru saw Sasuke and just smirked. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he walked off.

"Oi! Sasuke-teme!" Naruto yelled.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura began to walk back to her seat after coming from the bathroom. Sakura noticed that a waiter was already at their table, so she hurried back to her seat.

"Sorry for making you wait!" Sakura apologized.

"No problem at all" said the waiter. Sakura's eyes narrowed. There was something familiar about him. He had raven hair and a mustache as well. He wore glasses too. Sakura closed her eyes.

'You know, if you took away the mustache and the glasses and his hair is spiked up, he'd look a lot like…'

'**Sasuke-kun?' **

"Yeah..." Sakura opened her eyes to see the waiter and Kaoru looking at her strangely.

"Yeah what?" Karou asked as he grabbed her hand. "Is my cute Sakura-chan talking to herself?" Soon a clipboard fell on his head. Kaoru looked up to glare at the waiter.

"Sorry sir, it slipped out of my hands" the waiter said. "Well, I'm your waiter, Sas-Yukito, are you ready to take your order?"

"Yes" the two said as they gave him their orders.

"Okay, your meal will come soon. What would you like to drink?"

"Um…" Sakura got into her thinking pose.

'So cute…' Sasuke and Kaoru thought with a blush.

"I'll have sprite" Sakura finally said.

"Okay and what would you like asshole…" Yukito whispered the last word.

"What?" Kaoru asked.

"I said what would you like?"

"I'll have coke" Yukito wrote down the orders as he soon walked off.

"You know, that waiter looked like your friend, Uchiha-san" Kaoru said with a smile as he looked at Sakura. Ladies in the café sighed dreamily at the look of him. The only one unaffected was Sakura.

"Hahaha, what are you saying" Sakura said as she laughed a bit.

"It was just a thought" Kaoru said as he continued the conversation. On the other side of the room, a certain waiter took off his mustache and glasses.

"That Kaoru thinks he's scoring points with my Sakura!" growled Sasuke. Sasuke sneaked into the kitchen as he looked for Sakura's and Kaoru's orders.

"Let's see…" Sasuke soon found what he was looking for. He soon took out a bottle of hot sauce and poured it all over. He soon took out a little drug that looked like pepper and sprinkled it around.

The drug was made to make Kaoru knocked out for weeks.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"For the lovely lady…" another waiter said as he served Sakura her drink. "My name is Sai-I mean Sora

"Thank you Sora" She said with a smile. 'Sora' just smiled.

'He looks like Sai…' Sakura thought

"And for you're frien-"Sora was cut of by Kaoru.

"Fiancé actually…" Kaoru said.

"Fiancé? But Ug-I mean Sakura-san; I thought you'd be together with Sasuke-san or better yet that Sai guy from your team. He's so much better!" Sai said as he mentally patted himself on the back.

"You know my name?"

"Why of course. You're the most beautiful girl in Konoha and the strongest!" Sora said with a smile.

"Haha, oh no…" Sakura giggled. Kaoru was quietly steaming.

"Well, you're food should be on the way" Sora soon walked away.

"That waiter looks like that other teammate of yours…" Kaoru muttered.

"You mean Sai? Are you okay? That last waiter that came, you said he looked like Sasuke-kun, now you're saying that this waiter looks like Sai. What's next, a waiter or waitress looking like Naruto?" Sakura giggled. Soon a waitress came to their table.

"Hello, I'm Natsumi your waitress" 'Natsumi' said with a smile. Sakura's shoulder dropped as her mouth dropped.

'That is definitely Naruto!' Sakura thought. 'Then does that mean the other two were actually Sasuke-kun and Sai?'

'**Sasuke-kun is spying on us! Aw, how sweet'**

Sakura soon looked down to see that Naruto had served the food.

"Thank you Natsumi!" Sakura growled as she gave Naruto a death stare. Naruto sweat "Well, I'll leave you two to your meals. Enjoy!" Naruto said as he ran. 'While I run from Sakura's wrath!' He thought as he ran he bumped into two other people that were running as they crashed in the back.

Naruto soon turned back to his normal form. "What the heck" Naruto said as he looked to see what or who he crashed into.

"Dobe…" Sasuke growled.

"Stupid dickless!" Sai muttered as he got up.

"Sasuke, Sai, what are you two doing here?"

"We could ask you the same question!" Sasuke said. Naruto let out a nervous laugh.

"Hehe, well, you see, I was kinda…spying on Sakura-chan"

"Figures…" Sai said.

"Well, what about you two. I know you were spying on Sakura-chan as well" Sai and Sasuke didn't say anything as a light blush formed on their faces. Naruto shook his head and looked back at Sakura's table. Sasuke and Sai followed afterwards.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That looks good Sakura-chan!" Kaoru said as he looked at Sakura's meal.

"It is! Yours looks good too…" Sakura said.

"You want some?" Kaoru said as he cut a piece for Sakura. Sasuke's eyes widened. If Sakura takes a bite out of that she'll…

Sasuke sped over to the table and threw the dish at Kaoru's face as he soon disappeared.

"What was that…?" Kaoru said. Sakura began to crack up.

"Well I'll share my meal with you I guess…" Sakura said as she cut her meal in half.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a couple minutes, the two left the restaurant.

"Where do you want to go to now Sakura-chan?" Kaoru asked.

"Hm…" Sakura began to think about where to go. "Let's go to the lake"

Kaoru nodded as the two began to walk off.

'Kaoru's not that bad of a guy once you get to know him more'

'**WHAT!'** Her inner shrieked.

'What?'

'**HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? WHAT ABOUT SASUKE-KUN'**

'I'm just saying. Besides I still love Sasuke-kun. But he doesn't love me. But I won't give up'

'**That's right girl! Who do we love?'**

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered. Kaoru's eyes moved to his right as he quietly growled.

'I have to do something about Uchiha-san…' Kaoru thought

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We have to do something about that Karou guy!" Naruto said. "He could brainwash Sakura-chan or something"

"For once, I agree with dickless wonder here!" Sai said.

"Shut up!" Sasuke said.

"Maybe I can be of some help!" a voice said from above. The three looked up to see their smiling ex-sensei. "Yo" Kakashi said as he waved down at them.

"Kakashi!" said Naruto. "What are you doing here?"

"Well" Kakashi jumped down. "I saw three of my wonderful ex-teammates spying on our little princess. I wondered what was going on so I followed you three around. I must say your disguises suck, especially yours Naruto…"

Naruto frowned. "We just want to look out for Sakura-chan"

Kakashi just smiled. Well, you couldn't tell because of that mask of his. "Well let me ask you guys this" Kakashi said as he stole a glance at Sasuke. "Why do you care if Sakura is on a date with Kaoru? What do you know about what's going on? What do you have to do with any of this?" As he spoke Sasuke kept on clenching his fists tighter and tighter.

"Neji told us that Kaoru was supposed to get married to Hinata-san, but Sakura took her place instead." Naruto said.

'Wait a minute…' Sasuke said as he remembered what Sakura told him a few days ago.

**Flashback**

_The two began to swing. Sakura would swing forward as Sasuke would swing back then switch. The two weren't swinging at the same time. Soon Sasuke spoke up._

"_Sakura…" He hesitated, "…is everything okay? I mean, you were crying this morning. Did something happen?" asked Sasuke. Sakura didn't say anything at first._

_Should she tell him?_

"_Sasuke-kun…" Sakura took a deep breath. She had to find a way to tell him without actually telling him the whole truth. Sakura stared at the engagement ring on her left hand. "I can't tell you the whole story; some of it is...classified."_

_Sasuke nodded. At least she's telling him something right?_

"_Well, you see something happened with the Hyuga Clan and Kaoru-san. More like issues and a bad past. And he was planning to kill Neji and his cousins, but Tsunade, Kaoru, and the elders of the Hyuga clan came up with a compromise and I'm helping them…seal the deal."_

"_Kill Hyuga and Hinata?" said Sasuke._

'_**Wait until the dobe hears this! He will be up on that bastard's face!'**_

'_For once I agree with you'_

"_But you can't tell anyone what I just told you!" said Sakura as she stopped swinging. _

"_Promise me!"_

"_Hn…" said Sasuke as he stopped swinging as well. He looked up to see that Sakura was standing in front of him with her right pinky sticking out at him. He sighed. How childish. Well, she was the childish type. He stuck out his pinky as the two entwined theirs together. "I promise…"_

**End of Flashback**

'Seal the deal? Does Sakura marrying him have to do anything with it?' Sasuke thought yet he let his jealousy get the better of him.

"Sakura is making a big mistake!" Sasuke yelled as he punched the tree behind him. "What does Kaoru have that I don't? Did she replace me with him? He says he loves her but he only knew her for a few days, I've known her all my life. I've got to know her and love her longer than him! So why is she marrying him when I'm right he?-"Sasuke's eyes widened as what he said.

Naruto and Sai dropped their mouths a bit in shock as they were surprised at Sasuke's outburst. Kakashi just smirked.

"Sasuke, you know that Sakura will always have a place for you in her heart. She could never replace the love she has for you because it's still there. She loved you all this time, she still does. You were just too blind to notice up until now. You know, if you don't do anything soon, she'll be taken away from you. She may fall for Kaoru and actually go through with the wedding. You do know that right?"

Sasuke didn't say anything as he looked at the sky.

'I can still get Sakura back'

'**No duh. All you have to do is say **_**Sakura, I love you with all my heart, always and forever'**_

'Easier said than done…'

"So what are you going to do Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke smirked. "I'm going stop Sakura from making the wrong decision" He said as he got up and walked away. Sai and Naruto sighed as Naruto put his elbow on Kakashi's shoulder.

"You know Kakashi, sometimes I worry about that kid…" Kakashi just shook his head as he continued to read his book.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It was such a pretty sight!" Sakura said. Kaoru smiled.

"It sure was…"Kaoru said as he looked at Sakura. "If you excuse me, I need to um…go to the bathroom" Sakura nodded as Kaoru left. Kaoru soon took out a piece of paper and pen and began to write something.

"There…" Kaoru said as a bird went flying down to him. "Hey there, make sure that she gets this letter okay" The bird nodded as it flew up back in the sky.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where's Kaoru…" Sakura said as she looked up at the sky. It's been over ten minutes.

'You know, Kaoru isn't that much of a bad guy once you get to know him. He's nice, funny, and handsome…'

'**WHAT!!!!' **Inner Sakura screamed. **'How could you say that?! What about Sasuke-kun!'**

'I'm just saying! I still love Sasuke-kun. I just have a tiny crush on Kaoru-kun'

'**KAORU-KUN! WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO?!'**

'Kaoru seems like a nice guy and besides he actually likes me. Sasuke only thinks of me as a friend.'

'**Don't give up just yet! Maybe Sasuke-kun is just shy, no…VERY shy to show that he likes us!'**

'Are you trying to say that I'm going to forget about Sasuke and fall for Kaoru?'

'**YES!'**

'You're crazy. I'd never forget about Sasuke-kun! I love him with all my heart!'

'**Yet, you never thought about Sasuke-kun at all today!'**

Sakura's eyes widened. She was right. She never thought about Sasuke at all today. Was she actually falling for Kaoru?

"Sakura-chan!" Kaoru called out. "Sorry to make you wait! There was…a long line in the bathroom. Sakura just smiled.

"It's okay. How about I stop by at Ino's house and you can pick me up later for the dinner date" Kaoru nodded.

"That sounds like a good idea" Kaoru said as the two walked to Ino's house. "Are you having fun so far?"

Sakura just smiled. "I'm having a good time. But I must be honest with you. At first, I thought this date would suck. I always thought that you were some asshole who thinks he can get what he wants." Kaoru turned pale as he found himself a corner. A gloomy aura surrounded him. Sakura sweat dropped. "But during this date, I thought differently. You're actually a nice person to be around" Sakura finished smiling.

"Sakura-chan is finally falling for me!" Kaoru said as he hugged her and spun her around. Sakura turned blue.

"K-Kaoru…can't breath!"

"Oh sorry Sakura-chan, it just makes me really happy to hear that, especially coming from you!" Sakura blushed as Kaoru smiled at her.

'**Is that proof enough? Let me out so I can fix things here'**

'No go away!' Sakura said in her head.

'**Please!'**

'GO AWAY'

'…'

'…'

'…'

'Inner Sakura? Inner Sakura? Oh well…'

"We're here Sakura-chan" Sakura looked up to see that she was at Ino's house.

"Thank you Kaoru-kun!" Sakura said. "I'll see you later!" Sakura opened the door to the Yamanaka flower shop and entered the house.

Kaoru just smiled as he began to walk back home. Hopefully, his plan goes right.

"I wonder if she got the letter yet." Kaoru wondered out loud.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ino?" Sakura called out as she looked around the house.

"Sakura, you're back?" Ino said as she came to greet her. "How was your date?"

"To tell you the truth, I enjoyed it. He's coming by later for our dinner date" Ino's mouth dropped.

"You **enjoyed** it?" Ino asked.

"You ask like it's a bad thing…"

"B-But what about Sasuke?" Sakura sighed as she told Ino what happened at the café.

"And that's what happened" Sakura finished to see Ino on the floor laughing her butt off.

"Oh my gosh! That's too funny!" Ino began t crack up again. "But look at it this way. Sasuke was stalking you on your date. That means he must like you at least" Sakura just smiled.

"Maybe…" Sakura said. "Well anyways, Kaoru is going to pick me up later for the dinner part of the date."

"So it is true!" a voice said. Ino and Sakura turned around to see Neji.

"Neji-kun?!" Sakura said as she ran up to him and gave him a hug. "What's true?"

"You're dating that asshole and actually willing to go through the wedding?" Neji stared at Sakura's surprised green eyes.

"WHAT!!!!!!!!" screamed Sakura.

"Rumors are going around the village that you're dating Kaoru and then Naruto told me you were planning on going through with the marriage." Sakura frowned as a scary aura formed around her.

"Na-ru-to!" Sakura growled she grabbed one of Ino's hard books and ripped it to shreds. She laughed evilly as if it was Naruto's head she was tearing. Ino and Neji sweat dropped.

"Aha Forehead-girl? Chill please!" Ino said. Sakura head slowly turned to face the two.

"**When I see Naruto…" **Ino's eyes widened. That voice belonged to inner Sakura. **"I will punch the living daylights out of him!"**

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled out as he entered the flower shop. Sakura's eyes shined evilly as she punched Naruto hard.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moegi sighed as she looked up at the sky. She saw something shiny heading towards them.

"Konohamaru look!" Moegi said as she pulled on his scarf.

"What is it?" Konohamaru said. Moegi pointed up above.

"Look!"

"It's a bird!" Udon said as he pushed his glasses up.

"It's a plane!" Ebisu said as he looked up as well.

Konohamaru's face fell. "No…it's Naruto-niisan!" Naruto fell to the ground face first as dirt filled his mouth.

"Naruto-kun, are you okay?" Ebisu asked. Naruto barely made a move or sound.

"Naruto-niisan! You look like Sakura-neechan punched the living daylights out of him." Moegi said

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji turned off his Byakugan. "Congratulations Sakura, a new record on how far Sakura can punch Naruto. The new record is…" Neji and Ino held up a board.

"…400m!" Ino and Neji said together as confetti paper, balloons, and strings fell out of the no where. The rest of the rookie nine and Gai's team appeared to celebrate. Balloons were everywhere as people cheered.

"P-Poor Naruto-kun" Hinata muttered as she felt sorry for her boyfriend.

**JUST KIDDING!!!!**

Neji turned off his Byakugan. "Congratulations Sakura, you just punched Naruto 400m from here!"

Ino's eyes widened. "Wow, that's a new record!"

"I'll check on Naruto later at the hospital!" Sakura said as she calmed down.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ding dong…

"Forehead girl! The stalker is here!" Ino yelled. "Hurry up!"

"Shut up Ino-pig! I'm coming!" Sakura came down wearing a beautiful white sun dress with a matching ribbon on her head.

"Isn't that the dress I picked out for you a couple of weeks ago? I knew it would be perfect for you" Ino said

Sakura giggled. "Thank you! Well I see you tomorrow Ino!" Sakura said as she walked out the door.

"Okay, and tell me everything that happens" Ino said. Sakura raised a hand to signal that she heard her as she faced Kaoru.

"Sakura-chan, you look very lovely!" Kaoru complimented. Sakura blushed.

"Thank you…" Sakura said as she looked down at her feet in embarrassment. Kaoru chuckled as he offered Sakura his arm. Sakura just smiled as she took his arm with hers and walked off to their date.

Ino just smiled as they walked away from view. Ino soon looked at the bush next to her.

"You can come out now Sasuke" Ino said as she smirked.

"Crap!" a voice muttered as Sasuke came out with leaves and twigs in his hair. He immediately shook them out of his hair.

Ino sat down at the steps. Sasuke noticed Ino motioning him to sit down next to her. Ino put her elbows on her thighs and her chin on top of her entwined hands. Ino's blue eyes slowly moved to the left.

"What are you planning to do Sasuke? Are you going to let Kaoru take Sakura away from you?" Ino asked.

"Why should I care? I don't love her or anything!" Sasuke said. Ino raised an eye brow at him as she smirked.

"I never said you did. Well if you don't love her, why are you stalking her today, and trying to ruining her date with Kaoru?"

"…"

'**She has a point you know…'**

'You're back'

'**Just tell her the truth! Maybe she can help us!'**

'No'

Ino sighed. "Whatever; all I want is Sakura to be happy. She's my best friend and she's been…disappointed and hurt all her life. She deserves it. And if Sakura marrying Kaoru will make her happy then I will stop you from ruining it. But…" Ino paused as she slowly got up and walked to her door. "…if you think you can change Sakura's decision on who she will choose, then all by means, go and ruin the date. Just choose your decision wisely. Goodnight…" and with that Ino shut the door.

Sasuke looked up at the sunset as Ino's words floated in his mind. He truly loved Sakura. But if she's happy with Kaoru then he can't do anything…

Sasuke smirked as he got up.

…but prove that he is the one who truly loves her….

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

**Good luck Sasuke! Sorry for not updating this story. I've been busy and school is going to start in four days. Welcome sophomore year! Haha well anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Please review. It makes me happy :**


	5. Chapter 5: Sasuke makes his move

**Yeah I updated. I've been so busy. I'll try to find another time to update Perfect Enemy. ****I know, I know I missed the deadline for that one haha. ****Sorry. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Sasuke would have been with Sakura already. But I do own Kaoru :**

**Last Time on Before it's too late…**

_Ino sighed. "Whatever; all I want is Sakura to be happy. She's my best friend and she's been…disappointed and hurt all her life. She deserves it. And if Sakura marrying Kaoru will make her happy then I will stop you from ruining it. But…" Ino paused as she slowly got up and walked to her door. "…if you think you can change Sakura's decision on who she will choose, then all by means, go and ruin the date. Just choose your decision wisely. Goodnight…" and with that Ino shut the door._

_Sasuke looked up at the sunset as Ino's words floated in his mind. He truly loved Sakura. But if she's happy with Kaoru then he can't do anything…_

_Sasuke smirked as he got up._

_…but prove that he is the one who truly loves her…._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"S-Sakura-san! Sakura-san!" Kaoru said as weakly he ran up to her. "L-Look what I won for you!" The two were at a little festival in town. Sakura looked at the pink object in his hands.

…A gigantic pink teddy bear…

Sakura had a 'wtf' look on her face as she kept on staring. The teddy bear was so big, it looked like could squish him.

"Do you like it?" Kaoru asked.

Sakura sweat dropped a bit. "Hehehe, I like it. Um…thank you?" Sakura took the teddy bear from Kaoru, who collapsed on the floor.

"N-No problem Sakura-san! Do you wanna go get dinner now?" Sakura thought about it before she smiled.

"Okay…"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How disgusting…" Sasuke muttered. Snickering was heard behind him. Kakashi flipped the next page and giggle more. Sasuke's eyes twitched.

"Will you stop reading that book?!" Sasuke said.

"But it's getting to the good part!" Kakashi whined.

"….."

Kakashi soon got the message as he put his book away and cleared his throat. "So what is the jealous prince going to do to get his fair maiden back?" Kakashi asked as he glanced at Sasuke who was tightly holding on to a branch as he watched Kaoru help Sakura into her seat.

"We're going to stay here and wait for them to finish their date!" Sasuke said.

"You mean you're going to stay here and wait for them to finish their date. If you excuse me, I must be going" Kakashi said as he disappeared.

"Hey wait…" Sasuke said but it was too late. Kakashi was gone like the wind. "Damn it"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later…

Kaoru and Sakura had finished their nice dinner date at last.

"Thank you for the date today" Sakura said as she hugged Kaoru in a friendly manner. Karou blushed as he smiled at Sakura.

"No problem. It's late, I can walk you home to-"

"Don't bother…" a voice said. Sakura's eyes widened. She knew that voice anywhere. She quickly turned her head to her right to see Sasuke leaning on a tree near them. "I'm taking Sakura home tonight."

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura felt her stomach flop. What was he doing here?

"I think not. I'm going to take Sakura-san home!" Kaoru argued. Sasuke grabbed Sakura by the waist and pulled her next to him.

"You lived all the way across town from Sakura and I live a block away from hers place. So it would make sense if I walked her home instead." Sasuke said with a smirk. Kaoru scowled.

**'That's the way to d****o it buddy! Sasuke: 2 Kaoru: 3. ****just**** score another point and you two will be tied'**

_'How did he get more points than me?'_

**'He scored the first point by being engaged to her****. He got the second point by almost having his way with her and then he got the last point by going on this date.****'**

"But Sakura-san-"Sakura cut Kaoru off.

"Kaoru-san, Sasuke-kun is right. It wouldn't make sense for you to waste your time like that. Sasuke-kun is going the same direction as me anyways!" Sakura said as Sasuke took her hand in hers and walked away from a steaming Kaoru.

"You're good Uchiha. But I still have another idea up my sleeve…" Kaoru said as he looked up at the moonlight.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura and Sasuke walked silently through town. Sakura still haven't gotten over the fact that Sasuke **wanted** to walk her home and that their hands were still connected. The two were so into their thoughts they failed to see the engagement ring shine under them.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura called out to him. Sasuke turned to look at her showing that she got his attention. "Why did you want to walk me home?"

For the next couple of minutes, they were still walking as Sasuke hadn't said anything. "Sorry for ask-"

"I didn't want him to walk you home…" was all Sasuke said. Sakura blushed but smiled.

"I see…" Sakura looked to see where they were now. Her eyes widened as she looked at the house down ahead of them. Sakura came to a stop. Sasuke noticed as looked to see what she was staring at. It was a normal house. Nothing special...

Sasuke looked to see Sakura crying silently. Her nails were digging into her palms causing them to bleed. Sasuke grabbed onto her wrists to stop her from hurting herself.

"Sakura, stop it!" Sasuke said as Sakura soon stopped. Sakura closed her eyes as she grabbed a hold of Sasuke's shoulder to steady herself. She soon leaned forward.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered.

"S-Sakura…" Sasuke muttered. He didn't know what to do. He was never good with people crying. When Naruto cried, he'd leave him to Sakura, Hinata, or Kakashi. The same with Sakura, he's leave her to cry to Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, Ino, Hinata, Tenten, Neji, or Tsunade. So Sasuke did what felt right.

Sakura felt Sasuke's arms wrapped around her as she was pulled closer to his chest.

"What's wrong Sakura? What else are you hiding from us? I thought you could trust me or at least Naruto. Am I not trustworthy?"

"No, it's not that…it's just…"

_Who are you?_

_Get out of my house!_

_Where's my daughter?_

Sakura closed her eyes to get rid of that voice and memories. "I'm not ready to let it out yet…"

Sakura's eyes widened when she felt Sasuke lift her up bridal style. Sakura looked up at Sasuke questionably "We'll get to your house faster" he said. Sakura nodded as she let him take her back home.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two had finally reached Sakura's house as Sasuke stepped in front of her front door.

"Sakura, we're here" Sasuke said.

No response.

Sasuke looked down to see Sakura had fallen asleep in his arms.

Damn…

No wonder it was quiet for the rest of the trip. Sasuke carefully held Sakura in his arms as he tried to open the door. It was locked…

Damn it…

"How am I going to open the damn door?" He asked himself. Soon a memory came to him.

**Flashback**

_"Naruto what are you doing?" Sasuke asked. The two of them were at Sakura's house in the middle of the night. The night before Sakura's birthday.\_

_Naruto gave out a snicker. "We're going to decorate Sakura-chan's apartment. Her birthday is tomorrow and she's coming back from her mission tomorrow too__. So when she comes back and opens her apartment, she'll be surprised with the decorations."_

_Sasuke shook her head. "You dobe, if she's not here, how would you get into her apartment?"_

_"Easy!" Naruto said as he lifted a rock to reveal a gold key._

**End of Flashback**

Sasuke looked for the rock and lifted it up while not trying to wake Sakura up, only to find that the key was missing. Soon Sasuke remembered something else…

**Flashback**

_"How did you know where the key was?"Sasuke asked._

_"Sakura told me about it. __She said if I ever need something from her house but she wasn't home, there was an extra key. __But Sakura-chan has another key too."_

_"Where does she keep the other key at" Sasuke asked. Naruto soon had a perverted smile as he leaned close to whisper in his ear._

_"Sakura-chan keeps the other key in her-"_

**End of flashback**

Sasuke turned a very dark red. Hell no…

There was no way he was going to go and grab the key from her…

Sasuke looked down to at her breast. Only an idiot like Naruto would do such a thing.

Damn it all…

Sasuke carried Sakura with both his arms as he kicked the door open.

**'Tch, now Sakura-chan is going to wake up and wonder how her door got destroyed…'**

_'Shut up'_

Sasuke entered the quiet house as he looked around. Sakura had moved out of her parents' house for some weird reason a couple years ago. He never met her parents or heard about them. When asked, Sakura would deliberately change the subject.

Sakura began to move in her sleep and closer to Sasuke's chest. Sasuke looked down at Sakura's peaceful face. He was getting tired. Stalking someone wasn't easily. Sasuke walked to Sakura's bedroom and placed her gently on the soft bed.

"Night Sakura…" Sasuke said as he placed a light-feather kiss on her forehead and began to get up, but stopped. Sakura was still clinging on to him in a very tight grip. His eyes widened as Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down, making his face rest on a very soft but inappropriate place for him to be at.

God must really hate him…

**'Just enjoy the moment while it lasts…'**

'…..'

**'What?'**

_'You're even more perverted than Kakashi and Naruto put together…'_

Sasuke looked up to see that Sakura was still holding on to him like a teddy bear. Sasuke mentally shrugged. It was her fault anyways. Sasuke as gently as he could was finally able to remove her grip on him and rested near the edge of the bed as he put his arm around her as Sakura responded by moving closer.

**'Sasuke****:3**

**Karou****:3**

**You two are finally tied!'**

For the first time of his life since the Uchiha Massacre, Sasuke Uchiha slept very well that night….

-

-

-

-

-

-

WOO! I finally updated. Sorry for the long wait on this story. Well Sasuke is still a stalker and Kaoru is still an ass. The little breakdown with Sakura and the words Ino had said to Sasuke in the last chapter is a little foreshadowing of the upcoming chapters. My brain just keeps thinking on bringing more drama to Sakura's life haha. Well it seems like Kaoru is planning something up his sleeves as well. Hmm…I wonder what's going to happen in the next chapters and I just love putting Sasuke in embarrassing situations. Oh well. Please review people.


	6. Chapter 6: Mizuki?

**I finally updated! hallelujah! I've been so busy and all. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Too make it up to you, I made this long. So let's continue on with the story. Please R&R **

**Last time on ****before**** it's too late**

_"Night Sakura…" Sasuke said as he placed a light-feather kiss on her forehead and began to get up, but stopped. Sakura was still clinging on to him in a very tight grip. His eyes widened as Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down, making his face rest on a very soft but inappropriate place for him to be at._

_God must really hate him…_

_**'Just enjoy the moment while it lasts…'**_

_'…..'_

_**'What?'**_

_'You're even more perverted than Kakashi and Naruto put together…'_

_Sasuke looked up to see that Sakura was still holding on to him like a teddy bear. Sasuke mentally shrugged. It was her fault anyways. Sasuke as gently as he could was finally able to remove her grip on him and rested near the edge of the bed as he put his arm around her as Sakura responded by moving closer._

_**'Sasuke:**____**3 **_

___**Karou**________**3**_

_________**You two are finally tied!'**_

_________For the first time of his life since the Uchiha Massacre, Sasuke Uchiha slept very well that night…._

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______Sakura opened her eyes as she found herself in her room, but something was out of place in her white bedroom. In bed with her was a dark hair man. Sakura smiled as she got out of bed. It was eight in the morning and as she walked to her balcony. It was a nice day as the sun shined brightly over her apartment._

_______"What a beautiful morning!" Sakura thought out loud._

_______"Good morning Sakura-san!" a voice called out. Sakura looked down to see Kaoru standing in the streets waving at her like an idiot._

_______"Kaoru-san!" Sakura said as she smiled politely at him._

_______"Are you busy today Sakura-san? If not I was wondering if-"Kaoru was hit in the face with an alarm clock from Sakura's room. Sakura turned around to see Sasuke behind her._

_______"There was this annoying voice that woke me up, so I decided to get rid of it…" Sasuke said as he yawned. Soon the alarm clock went off. "What do you want to eat?"_

_______"Oh no! Don't worry Sasuke-kun, I'll make breakfast and-"Sakura didn't get to finish her sentence as Sasuke put his lips on hers. Sakura's eyes widened as she blushed._

_______"S-Sasuke-kun…"She whispered._

_______"You talk too much you know that…" Sasuke said with a gentle smile. Sasuke carried Sakura in his arms as he jumped off her balcony and landed on Kaoru's stomach._

_______"Leave Sakura alone…" Sasuke whispered to Kaoru as he took off. Kaoru slowly got up and rubbed his stomach. A sinister smile had spreaded across his face._

_______"You better watch out Uchiha-san. You don't know who you're dealing with. Whatever I want, I get…" Kaoru said as he got up. He looked at the white alarm clock on the ground as he crushed it with his foot._

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______Green eyes scanned the area around her as the guards in the front gate came up to them._

_______"State your business" Kotetsu asked the young girl in front of them. Izumo walked up next to Kotetsu._

_______"I'm here to visit Haruno Sakura…" They said as their blue eyes sparkled._

_______Kotetsu and Izumo looked at each other wondering if they should let her in. The girl looked like she would do no harm to the village. She had greenish blue hair and green eyes. She seemed to only be 13 or 14 years old. What damage can a girl like her do? The two looked back to see that she had disappeared and entered the village._

_______"Crap!" Izumo said._

_______"We have to warn the Hokage about this!" Kotetsu said._

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______Sasuke and Sakura had walked outside the restaurant they had eaten at. Sakura glanced over at Sasuke._

_______"What's with all these nice things you've been doing for me? You would usually ignore me or something like that…" Sakura said. "Did Naruto or Ino put you up to this?"_

_______**"Now is a good time to tell her how you feel!" **Inner Sasuke said._

_______"Sakura, I-it's just that…I l-"_

_______"Sakura-chan!" a voice cried out. Sasuke and Sakura turned to see a girl with greenish blue hair and green eyes running up to them. She had her arms spreaded out at she ran to Sakura._

_______"Sakura-chan!" Her arms hit Sasuke's back hard as he flew up in the air. Sasuke was caught off-guard to do anything about it as he flew in the air. His body twirled around like a leaf caught in the wind._

_______"Misa-chan!" Sakura cried out. "I didn't know you were coming here!"_

_______"Of course. I wanted to surprise you!"_

_______Sasuke crashed back to the ground as he glared at the girl talking to Sakura._

_______"You little brat! Be lucky you're a child…" Sasuke growled as he rubbed his back in pain. Misa's eyes glowed green as she snapped her head to Sasuke as her face turned red with anger._

_______"Excuse me! I'm nineteen years old! Respect your elders!" Misa yelled._

_______"Do you know who you're dealing with?" Sasuke snapped back. "I'm the Sasuke Uchiha!"_

_______"Do you think I care? And who do you think you are hanging around my innocent little Sakura?!" Misa said as she poked Sasuke on the chest. Misa was up to his chest, making her 5'0._

_______"Misa-chan, please don't fight haha" Sakura pleaded. "Sasuke-kun is just a very good friend of mine!"_

_______Misa glared at Sasuke as she moved a part of her hair over her back shoulder. "I'm very sorry, but I'll be stealing Sakura-chan away from you for the day" Misa said as she continued to glare at Sasuke as she linked arms with Sakura._

_______Sasuke sighed as he turned around and continued to walk towards Naruto's apartment. "How troublesome…"_

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______On the way to Naruto's apartment, Sasuke walked by the hospital to see Tsunade walking out a woman in her late 40's. She had dark pink hair and green eyes._

_______"Thank you Tsunade-sama…" The woman said with a soft voice._

_______"No problem Naomi. Take care of yourself okay. She'll be back home probably by tomorrow" Tsunade said with a nod. Naomi nodded back at her._

_______"Well I must go to the market to buy some food for my daughter. Thanks again" Naomi said as she walked away._

_______"Uchiha!" Tsunade called out. Sasuke walked up to her. "What are you doing here?"_

_______"I was just heading to Naruto's place. But…while I'm here I was wondering if you could…"_

_______Tsunade smirked. "You want me to heal your back?" Sasuke nodded._

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______"So that was the Sasuke Uchiha you have been telling me about?" Misa asked as the two were heading over to Ino's flower shop. Sakura nodded her head._

_______Misa did a raspberry with her mouth. "How can you fall in love with a cocky bastard like him?"_

_______"He really is a sweet guy. I grew up with him and he's a very close friend to me" Sakura said trying to defend Sasuke._

_______"Yet how come I heard from Ino the last time I was here, all the bad things he did to you. He knocked you out cold after you confessed your "love" for him. He ignores you and calls you weak. If that's your definition of a sweet guy, I wonder what your definition for an asshole is…"_

_______"Misa-chan, that's when we were thirteen years old, we're eighteen now! He's changed. He cares about me. I know it. Even if he doesn't have same feelings I have for him, I'm glad to be someone he trusts and cares about." Sakura said as she looked up at the blue summer sky._

_______Misa's green eyes looked at her cousin as she thought about what Sakura had said._

_______"But it doesn't matter…" Sakura said. "I can't be with him anymore…" Sakura muttered as she looked at the cursed ring on her finger._

_______Misa had finally noticed the ring on Sakura's hand as her eyes widened._

_______"I-I-IS THAT AN ENGAGEMENT RING???!"_

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______"Oi Sasuke! What are you doing here?" Naruto asked as Sasuke entered his apartment. Sasuke ignored him as he fell on Naruto's couch._

_______"Hey teme! You can't just come into someone's house without per-"A pillow was thrown to Naruto's face. Naruto grabbed the pillow from his face and was about to throw the pillow back until he saw Sasuke's facial expression. Sasuke seemed to be in deep thought as if thinking back on something._

_______"Who's the unfortunate girl?" Naruto asked. Sasuke glared at him as Naruto chuckled and put an arm around him. "My boy is growing up!"_

_______"Will you quit it?!" Sasuke said as he moved Naruto's arm away from him. Naruto smirked as he got closer._

_______"Sa-ku-ra….." Naruto said as Sasuke's cheeks turned pink. "I knew it! You are in love with her!" Naruto said as he slapped Sasuke in the back. "About time"_

_______"………" Sasuke glared at Naruto._

_______"You should just tell her before the end of the month. You have like…." Naruto paused to think. It has been at least a week since Kaoru's arrival. So that meant Sasuke had only five weeks to stop the engagement. "Like five weeks. They can go by fast. You better step up your game!"_

_______"How about you and Hinata? You guys have been together for three years. When are you going to pop the question?" Sasuke asked. Naruto turned scarlet and he began to fidget with his fingers. He probably picked that up from Hinata._

_______"Whatever let's go to Ichiraku's…" Sasuke suggested as Naruto's eyes began to shine._

_______"RAMEN!" Naruto said happily as he put his shoes on._

_______"You're paying…" Sasuke said as he walked outside. Naruto grabbed his green frog wallet as its mouth was frowning._

_______"Aw man…." Naruto muttered as he closed his door._

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______Ding_

_______Ino looked up from her paperwork to see Sakura and Misa enter the store._

_______"Oh my gosh!" Ino cried out at she hugged Misa._

_______"Hey Ino!" Misa said as she hugged her back. Sakura just smiled._

_______"It's been so long! When did you get here?" Ino asked._

_______"I got here like an a couple minutes ago" Misa replied._

_______"Ino!" A voice from the back was heard._

_______"Yes mom?" Ino turned to face her mother._

_______"I need some help in the back and oh you have a visitor?"_

_______"Yes" Sakura began to head towards Mrs. Yamanaka._

_______I'll help you. That way Ino and Misa could have some time to catch up with each other" Ino's mom nodded as she led Sakura to the back._

_______Making sure Sakura and Mrs. Yamanaka was out of site Misa sat down and looked at Ino seriously._

_______"So who's she getting married to? " Ino frowned._

_______"She's being put into an arranged marriage between the cloud village and Konoha…." Ino said with a frown. Misa's mouth dropped as her eyes widened. "Her husband to be is a jerk!"_

_______"Did **she** say anything about the arranged marriage?" Ino noticed how Misa said "she" knowing that Misa wasn't talking about Sakura._

_______"I haven't seen or heard from her for a while. I wonder if Sakura had…" Ino whispered._

_______"Does she still…" Misa was cut off as Sakura reentered the room._

_______"Thank you for the help Sakura" Mrs. Yamanaka said. Sakura just smiled back. Sakura soon turned to face Ino and Misa._

_______"You two up for lunch?" Sakura asked._

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______"So full……" Naruto said as he and Sasuke left the ramen shop with their bellies full. Sasuke nodded as the two strolled down the market._

_______"You know, you should really tell Sakura-chan how you feel before it's too late." Naruto said. Sasuke sighed. The two turned the corner._

_______"Not this again. I told you, I'll tell her when the time is r-"_

_______"Uff…." A timid voice was heard. Naruto looked to see that Sasuke has bumped into a woman with dark pink hair and green eyes as she was walking out of the store. She was pushing three large bags of rice on a cart as two of them fell to the ground._

_______"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know where I was going." She laughed as she bent down to carry the bags back. Sasuke didn't say anything as he lifted the bags and put them over his shoulders. Naruto got the other bag._

_______"Which way…" Sasuke asked. Sasuke looked to see that it was the same woman he saw from the hospital that was talking to Tsunade. The woman got the message and pointed to west._

_______"Thank you very much…" She said. "I'm Naomi H-"_

_______"Sasuke Uchiha…" Sasuke said cutting her off._

_______"And I'm Naruto Uzumaki" Naomi smiled._

_______"Are you two ninjas?" She asked. Naruto nodded. She smiled as a response._

_______"So what's with all the rice?" Naruto asked the elder woman in the middle of him and Sasuke._

_______Naomi just smiled again. "It's for my daughter. She loves rice!"_

_______Naruto smiled. "We have a friend named Sakura who loves rice too!"_

_______"Sakura…?" Naomi repeated. "What a beautiful name" Naruto nodded_

_______"She's really pretty. In fact you look like her just older and you hair is darker. You could really pass for her mother." Naruto said. Sasuke just kept silent as he listened to the conversation._

_______"My daughter just loves rice. She's a ninja as well so I haven't seen her as much anymore." Naomi said with a frown._

_______"What's her name?" Naruto asked._

_______"Her name is Mizuki" Naomi soon stopped walking. "Well this is my house. Thank you very much for helping me" Naomi led the two in as they laid the rice on the floor close to the kitchen._

_______"No problem" Naruto said. Sasuke just nodded._

_______"Well thank you again" Naomi said as she led the boys to the front. Naruto waved good bye to Naomi as she closed the door._

_______"She smiles too much…" Sasuke commented. "She reminds me too much of Sakura…" He muttered the last part_

_______"You need to learn how to smile and what?" Naruto said as he looked at Sasuke confused. Sasuke just ignored him as he continued to walk._

_______"Sasuke!" Naruto said as he chased after him._

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______Sakura and the girls decided to go to Ichiraku ramen._

_______"Surprising, Naruto isn't here" Ino said jokingly as Sakura giggled._

_______"Naruto?" Misa said._

_______"He's one of my best friends" Sakura said with a smile._

_______"I see" Misa said._

_______"Naruto was here earlier" Ayame said as she put the bowl of ramen in front of them. "He was here with Sasuke-san" Sakura's mouth formed an O. After a couple of minutes, someone entered the shop._

_______"I thought I'd find you here" A voice said. The girls turned around to see Tsunade standing behind them. Tsunade had a straight face. "Sakura, can I talk to you privately?" Sakura gave her a confused look before standing up and walking outside._

_______Ino and Misa looked at each other before nodding. They slowly poked their head out to see and listen to the conversation._

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______"I'm sorry Sakura. I know that's why you left for a reason. But you must come back…" Tsunade said as she put a hand on Sakura's shoulders._

_______"But….."_

_______"Sakura I know it hurts. But she needs you more than ever right now" Ino's eyes widened when she saw tears forming in Sakura's eyes as she nodded._

_______"Okay…" Tsunade smiled._

_______"Yamanaka, Haruno…" Ino and Misa froze and they sheepishly walked from their hiding place._

_______"Sakura will tell you what to do" Tsunade soon disappeared in a puff of smoke._

_______Sakura's fists tightened as a tear drop rolled down her cheek. "Let's go" Sakura muttered as she began to walk away from Ino and Misa._

_______"Forehead-girl, wait up!" Ino said as Misa and she followed after her._

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______"Thank you guy, for helping me move my stuff" Sakura said as she looked up to see Ino, Misa, Tenten, and Hinata._

_______"No problem dear. Anything for you!" Misa said as she put her arms around her cousin and pulled her into a tight bear hug._

_______"M-Misa…can't breathe!" Sakura said as her face turned blue from the lack of oxygen._

_______"Opps…my bad" Misa said as she loosened her grip. The girls laughed._

_______"Did you pack everything you need?" Tenten asked. Sakura nodded._

_______"Okay let's carry this stuff out of here!" Ino said. "GUYS!"_

_______Shikamaru, Lee, Shino, Sai, Kiba, and Neji came from the living room as they each carried a couple boxes._

_______"Why do we have to help carry these boxes?" Kiba whined. The sounds of knuckles cracking was heard from behind him. Kiba slowly turned his head to see Ino with flames behind her._

_______"What was that Kiba?" Ino asked. "Did I just hear whining?"_

_______"N-No…." Kiba said as he quickly carried the boxes and ran out of the house. The others didn't say anything as they followed after Kiba._

_______"I-Is it really okay to let the guys do all the work?" Hinata asked._

_______"Don't worry about it Hinata. The guys are just gonna carry it there. We're the ones who are gonna arrange the stuff" Tenten said. The girls picked up the smaller things as they headed outside. Before Sakura locked the door of her apartment, her eyes widened._

_______"Oh my gosh! I almost forgot!" Sakura said as she ran back inside leaving the girls confused._

_______Sakura ran upstairs as she entered her room. Looking around her room, she finally found what she was looking for. Sakura picked up a picture frame with her as a little girl next to someone, but the sun's rays blocked the view of the person next to her._

_______"Come one Sakura!" Tenten's voice said from downstairs._

_______"I'm coming!" Sakura said as she stuffed the picture in her bag and ran downstairs._

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______The day was getting late as Naruto and Sasuke were still walking around Konoha._

_______"Hey teme, let's go visit Sakura-chan!" Naruto said with a smile on his face. Sasuke just shrugged his shoulders as he followed after Naruto._

_______The two arrived at Sakura's apartment as Naruto knocked on the door._

_______"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. No response._

_______"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said as he began to fiddle with the door knob. The door slowly opened as Naruto took a step inside. Sasuke sighed._

_______"Stupid. You're gonna get your ass kicked by S-"_

_______"WHAT!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke's eyes widened as he ran inside. The apartment revealed to be empty and no trace of their pink-haired friend anywhere._

_______Naruto soon grabbed Sasuke by the shoulders and began to shake him. "Sakura's apartment is empty!"_

_______Sasuke growled. "I can see that, dobe! Let's ask the others"_

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______"Man, she's so bossy. I don't know how you could put up with her" a voice said. Sasuke looked up to see Kiba and the others._

_______"What a pain…." Shikamaru mumbled._

_______"Oi, Shikamaru!" Naruto called out._

_______"Naruto? Sasuke?!" Shikamaru said as Naruto and Sasuke walked up to the group._

_______"Have you guys seen Sakura-chan? Her apartment is empty!" Naruto said as tears streamed down her face._

_______"Calm down Naruto-san. Sakura just moved to a new place" Lee said._

_______"New place?" Sasuke repeated._

_______"Yes. We moved Haruno-san's stuff to her new place earlier" Shino said. "She seemed upset to move for some reason. The girls should be done arranging the stuff though."_

_______"In fact, here comes the hag now" Sai said._

_______"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he ran to give her a hug._

_______"So you're Naruto…" Naruto looked down to see a girl next to Sakura._

_______"Eh? Sakura-chan, who's that?" Naruto asked._

_______"That's my cousin, Misa" Sakura said. Naruto bent down as he ruffled her hair. "I didn't know your **little **cousin was coming over"_

_______Misa turned red with anger. "Little?! Little you say?" Misa punched Naruto square in the face as he flew into a nearby building._

_______"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said as she ran after him. Ino shook her head._

_______"You're still the same from the last time I met you" Ino said as she laughed._

_______"S-S-She's like another Sakura-chan" Naruto mumbled as Hinata helped him up. Shikamaru looked up at the sky as the sun was going down._

_______"It's almost night fall" Shikamaru stated._

_______"H-He's right. I should be heading home now. Neji-niisan will be worried" Hinata said._

_______"We'll walk with you there" Tenten said. "Lee and I need to get something from Neji anyways" Hinata nodded as the three said goodbye to everyone and left._

_______"I need to go back to the shop. See you guys tomorrow" Ino said as she and Shikamaru walked away. Shino didn't say anything as he disappeared with a bunch of bugs._

_______"What the heck!" Misa said as she hid behind Sakura. "D-Did you see that?" Everyone still there nodded._

_______"He's made out of bugs" Kiba said. With those words, Misa fainted._

_______---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_______Sakura, Misa, Naruto, and Sasuke began walking to Sakura's home. The sky was now a purplish, pinkish, orange color as the sun was setting._

_______"I heard you moved to a new place" Sasuke said breaking the silence. Sakura's eyes widened._

_______"Uh, yeah. I moved back with my mom" Sakura said. Naruto walked behind the two with Misa on his back. He listened to the conversation._

_______"This area looks familiar" Naruto mumbled._

_______"Why? I thought you wanted your independence from your parents"_

_______**Flashback**_

_________"I'm glad I moved out of my parents' house" Sakura said with a sad smile as she, Naruto, and Sasuke passed by a house with a mother and daughter fighting so loud it could be heard from outside._

_________Naruto and Sasuke were surprised to hear those words escape from her mouth. Sakura always seemed to love her family. Sakura noticed the looks her boys were giving her._

_________"I want some freedom" Sakura said._

_______**End of Flashback**_

_______"Things happened" Was all Sakura said as she took Misa in her arms. Misa soon woke up as Sakura put her to her feet. "Well, here we are! Thank you for walking me home" The door of the house soon opened._

_______"You're finally back?" A voice said from behind. "Oh? Is someone with you?"_

_______"My friends…" Sakura said. The door opened more as it revealed the person behind. Naruto and Sasuke soon had a shocked face._

_______"You were the two that helped me with the rice this morning. Thank you once again and for walking my daughter back home" The woman they helped this morning appeared._

_______"Well, time to come in now….Mizuki" Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto snapped attention to Sakura. Sakura stared at the ground, not daring to look at them._

_______Misa looked up at Sakura then back at Naruto and Sasuke._

_______"Come on Mizuki…" Tears formed in Sakura's eyes. "Mizuki, what's wrong? Come, I have dinner prepared for you and your cousin"_

_______Sakura looked back up at Naruto and Sasuke before turning around to enter the house. Misa looked back to see Naruto and Sasuke still confused._

_______"I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Meet me at Ino's flower shop tomorrow at one." Misa said as she followed after Sakura. Sakura looked backed outside giving them one last look, before closing the door._

_______-_

_______-_

_______-_

_______-_

_______-_

_______-_

_______-_

_______-_

_______-_

_______-_

_______**OMG! I finally updated. I'm so sorry for everyone that was waiting. I had so much stuff to do; I didn't have time to update anything. But at last! I did. A new twist in the story appeared. ****I kinda rushed it though. I was going to end the chapter with Sakura's mom saying "Well, Time to come in now…Mizuki" but I was like nah. Well I hoped everyone enjoyed it. Please review :**_

_______**-Kumiko**_


	7. Chapter 7: Haruno secret

**Chapter 7 is now up! cheers Now I know everyone is wondering what's going on with Sakura. Well let's find out**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did Naruto would already kick Sasuke's butt and bring him back to Konoha and he would get with ****Sakura :D**

**But I do own Kaoru, that bastard **

**Last Time on BITL**

_"You were the two that helped me with the rice this morning. Thank you once again and for walking my daughter back home" The woman they helped this morning appeared._

_"Well, time to come in now….Mizuki" Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto snapped attention to Sakura. Sakura stared at the ground, not daring to look at them._

_Misa looked up at Sakura then back at Naruto and Sasuke. _

_"Come on Mizuki…" Tears formed in Sakura's eyes. "Mizuki, what's wrong? Come, I have dinner prepared for you and your cousin"_

_Sakura looked back up at Naruto and Sasuke before turning around to enter the house. Misa looked back to see Naruto and Sasuke still confused._

_"I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Meet me at Ino's flower shop tomorrow at one." Misa said as she followed after Sakura. Sakura looked backed outside giving them one last look, before closing the door._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto and Sasuke stood in front of the house, shocked at the scene that happened a few minutes ago.

"M-Mizuki?" Naruto finally whispered. Naruto looked up to see that Sasuke had begun to walk away from the house. "Oi, Teme!" Naruto began to chase after him.

Misa watched from her room above as she watched the two friends run away from the house.

Misa heard footsteps as she saw Sakura walking in the hall.

"Mizuki-chan!" Mrs. Haruno said.

"…" Sakura stopped in her steps.

"Mizuki-chan?" Mrs. Haruno called again.

Sakura clenched her fists. "…Yes mother?"

"Can you be a dear and prepare dinner for us and your cousin?"

"Sure…" Misa watched as Sakura walked down the stairs. Misa frowned as she looked back out the window.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey Ino-chan!" Misa said as she entered Ino's flower shop. Ino was currently watering some tulips. Ino looked up to see Sakura's cousin.

"Misa-chan?" Ino looked behind her to see if Sakura was with her. "Where's Sakura?"

"She's at home taking care of her mom" Misa said. Ino frowned as she put the water can on the ground.

She began to wipe her hands with her apron. "How is she?"

"She's st-"Misa paused as the door to the flower shop opened.

"Oi!" Naruto said as Sasuke followed after him.

"You guys made it" Misa said. "Did you guys have lunch yet?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was shining as people walked around town. Misa stared outside the window while stirring her spoon around her coffee. Sasuke was staring at his reflection in his tea as Naruto stayed quiet. The three had finished their lunch and now was silent.

"So what's going on with Sakura…?" Sasuke finally asked breaking the silence. Naruto had finally looked up as Misa stopped stirring her coffee and stared into Sasuke's eyes before sighing.

"It all began when Sakura was ten years old…." Misa said as she closed her eyes to remember.

**Flash****back**

_"Onee-chan, Onee-chan!"__ Misa turned around to see her favorite cousin Sakura running up to her. Sakura had grabbed her hand and began pulling her towards the hospital._

_"What's going on Sakura-chan?" Misa asked. Sakura's eyes__ were watery as she continued to pull her older cousin to the hospital._

_"__Something is wrong with mommy!" Sakura cried out.__"D-Daddy had to take her to the hospital" Sakura began to cry. Misa bent down to Sakura's level._

_"It's okay, don't cry. I'm sure she's gonna be alright" Misa said._

**End of flashback**

"After we reached the hospital, we found out that my aunt had a miscarriage and had lost the baby. I continued to stay with Sakura for another year. As the year past, many events happened. Sakura's father had left them and made a new family. During the miscarriage, my aunt began to have side effects from it. It was when Sakura was thirteen that it began to happen" Misa said as she took a sip of her coffee

"What does that have to do with Sakura-chan's mother and the whole Misuki thing!" Naruto yelled. Mizuki glared at him as she kicked his seat from under the table, thus making him fall backwards.

"I'm not done yet you twerp!" Misa said. "I don't even know how Sakura can put up with you two. Anyways, after Sakura became a genin, things began to change."

**Flashback**

_Misa and Sakura had heard the door open._

_"Hey mom!"__ Sakura called out. Misa watched as her aunt had walked up behind Sakura and hugged her._

_"Mizuki, I missed you so much!" Her mother said as Sakura's eyes had widened. _

**End of Flashback**

"Who's Mizuki?" Sasuke asked. Misa made a sigh before answering.

"Mizuki…Mizuki was what my aunt and uncle were planning to name their second child. It seemed that my aunt was still traumatized by the problem. The result was her beginning to call Sakura Mizuki. It hurt Sakura so much. It was as if Sakura never existed to her mother. Soon Sakura had to play as Mizuki for the longest time"

Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke frowned. Sakura seemed so happy that you couldn't imagine something like this happening to her.

"Soon I had to go back home and left Sakura to take care of her mom. I don't know how Sakura felt coming back home but she told me she had you guys to make her better." Misa said with a sad smile.

Sasuke began to feel the guilt of how he used to treat Sakura back in the days. Naruto was upset that Sakura could hide something like this from him.

_"I thought we're best friends"_ Naruto thought.

"But she told me that after you…," Misa said looking at Sasuke. "…had left the village and he left to train with some guy, she moved out of the house because she couldn't take it anymore. So Tsunade-sama had to take care of her mother yet understood how Sakura felt. But now I came back to help her."

"Is there no way to help Sakura-chan's mother?" Naruto asked. "Can't Tsunade-baachan do something?"

"Tsunade tried all she could, but not even she could help her" Misa said with a sigh. "All we can do is pray and hope that my aunt's condition will get better"

"So if Sakura's mother was being taken care of by the Hokage, why did Sakura have to move back in with her mother?" Sasuke asked.

"Because my aunt's condition had gotten worse, so she can't be living by herself anymore. Well now you know…" Misa said as she got up.

"W-Wait!" Naruto called out. Misa continued to walk pass them. While passing Sasuke she said something only he could hear.

"Don't hurt her anymore than you already have, she won't be able to take it…" Sasuke's eyes widened as he turned around to see Misa had already left the café.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaoru walked around the village as he saw a familiar bird flew to him.

"Hello?! What's this?" Kaoru said as he took the note from the bird's claws. Looking around, Kaoru began to untie the black ribbon as he began to make hand signs. He soon began to read the letter aloud.

_**Ka**__**oru**___

_**I'm surprised to be getting a letter from you. It's been years since I've last seen you. **_

_**So you're at Konoha huh?**__** I'll be there in a few days, probably this Thursday. Let's see what trouble we'll create next. **_

_**-love Arisa**_

Kaoru smirked as he read the last sentence. "We'll see…" Today was Tuesday. In two days, he's long time friend would come to visit.

_'This will be interesting…'_ Kaoru thought as he rolled the scroll back and put it in his pocket. Kaoru soon walked away from the scene. Unknown to him, a certain artist was drawing and had heard the whole thing.

"Seems trouble is coming to Konoha…." He said with a smirk. "Things are about to get interesting around here."

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

It was quiet at the Hyuga compound as Neji Hyuga and Shikamaru Nara were walking down the halls. They had just finished a game of Shougi. They were passing through the halls that led to Hinata's room. What they heard made them stop.

**"****Damn it!"** A voice yelled from Hinata's room. Shikamaru and Neji had stopped in their tracks as they faced the door.

_"That sounded like __Tenten__…" _Neji thought. He walked up to the door as he pressed his ears against the door trying to hear what was going on. Shikamaru followed after

**"Harder Tenten!**** Harder!" Another voice was heard in Hinata's room. **

"That's Sakura's voice" Shikamaru said. The two could feel their faces turn red as they continued to listen. Shuffling and thumping was heard.

**"I am! I am!" ****Tenten answered. Unclean thoughts entered their minds.**

**"T-Tenten-chan, you're hurting her!" Hinata's voice could be heard. **

**"No, not until I'm done. I'm almost there!" Tenten replied.**

Shikamaru had turned red as heard a thump to the floor. He looked to see that Neji had fainted as blood was dripping from his nose.

A bang was heard as if someone had hit the wall.

**"Sakura-chan!**** Are you okay" Hinata asked.**

**"I'm sorry Sakura-chan!" Tenten cried out. ****"You told me harder"**

Shikamaru held his nose as blood began to drip. He too had fallen to the floor.

_**(A/N: Haha sorry, I couldn't resist X)**_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thump.

The girls' eyes widened as they heard someone fall.

"What was that?" Sakura asked. Tenten went to check it out with Hinata. Sakura looked down at her hand with the ring. Tenten had tried with all her strength to pull it out but it didn't work. She sighed. Not even Tsunade with her strength could pull this darn ring out.

"Nii-san, Shikamaru!" Hinata cried out. Sakura went over to see Shikamaru and Neji knocked out with blood dripping down their face.

Sakura went to heal the two. They soon woke up.

"You two okay?" Sakura asked. Embarrassed, the two silently nodded not want to explain the cause of their nose bleeds. "Well take care, don't want to find you guys on the floor again"

"C-Can we ask you a question?" Shikamaru asked. Sakura tilted her head a bit. Shikamaru continued. "What were you three doing in the room?"

"Oh, she was trying to take this ring out of my hand. It's stuck." Sakura simply said leaving Shikamaru and Neji wondering how they became so perverted.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

**Random ending I know haha. I didn't know what else to write haha. Well yeah, chapter 7 is now here. Gonna have to go back to school in two days. Great…. Well please review everyone, it will make me happy.**


	8. Chapter 8:Trouble

**I got to update this story. I wrote all this in one day. I'm proud. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. There is going to be appearances by people you thought wouldn't be in the story. **

**Please read and review :**

**Last Time on Before it's too late**

"_Nii-san, Shikamaru!" Hinata cried out. Sakura went over to see Shikamaru and Neji knocked out with blood dripping down their face. _

_Sakura went to heal the two. They soon woke up._

_  
"You two okay?" Sakura asked. Embarrassed, the two silently nodded not want to explain the cause of their nose bleeds. "Well take care; don't want to find you guys on the floor again"_

"_C-Can we ask you a question?" Shikamaru asked. Sakura tilted her head a bit. Shikamaru continued. "What were you three doing in the room?"_

"_Oh, she was trying to take this ring out of my hand. It's stuck." Sakura simply said leaving Shikamaru and Neji wondering how they became so perverted._

--

Early in the morning, the gates of Konoha opened as someone entered. Her red hair flowed in the wind as she fixed her glasses.

"So this is my Sasuke-kun's village!" She said with hearts in her eyes. "I wonder where Kaoru-kun is. Hurry with my stuff you baboon!" She shouted to the guys behind her.

"Why do I have to carry your stuff?" A man with light blue hair said. His teeth resembled that of a shark.

"Because I said so, now do it!" The man started to cuss under his breath. A very tall and big man came and helped carry some stuff.

"Don't worry, I'll help you Suigetsu" Juugo said as he carried almost all of Karin's things.

"Thanks" Suigetsu said.

--

"Sakura! Don't forget to drop by later. Temari is coming down to visit so we're gonna have a girls' night!" Ino said as she walked Sakura's out of the flower shop.

"Don't worry. I'll be there on time. But right now I have to go!" Sakura said. Ino raised an eye brow.



"And where are you off to?"

"My team and I are going out to eat for breakfast" With that Sakura left the shop.

"Sasuke…you better step up your game…" Ino said to herself.

Sakura started to head to Ichiraku ramen as she started to think about what Ino and she talked about earlier.

**Flashback**

"_So how are you and Kaoru?" Ino asked as she watered some flowers._

_Sakura blushed. "We're okay"_

"_Are you going to go through with the arranged marriage? You told me when we were little that you wanted to get married to the guy you love not to a guy because of an arranged marriage."_

"_Ino, Kaoru is a nice guy and I like him"_

_Ino stared at Sakura who was looking at a tulip. "What about Sasuke-kun? Aren't you in love with him?" Ino saw Sakura tense up._

"_I-I…I don't know anymore…"_

_Ino's eyes widened. "What do you mean 'I don't know'? Don't tell me you're falling for Kaoru. We spent years fighting over Sasuke. And I finally let him go so you can be happy! You always told me you're in love with him and you know he's the one! Now you're telling me you don't know?!"_

"_Ino, I've liked him so long to the point where I was in love. But he only likes me as a friend. He proved that to me when I tried to stop him that night. I told him I love him yet he left"_

"_Maybe he had a reason for leaving besides just trying to gain power. Maybe he left for you"_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_Maybe he left for your sake? Have you ever thought about it? Sakura, everyone thought he did love you back. Shikamaru thinks he left because of Itachi. He thinks that if Sasuke was ever to love you back and Itachi found out. Itachi would kill you." Sakura's eyes widened. It did make sense._

"_Sakura, Sasuke does love you back, I can tell. Especially since now he has competition with Kaoru. Hasn't Sasuke been acting different?"_

_Sakura thought about the kisses they had as she turned red._

"_Sasuke did something to you huh?" Ino said with a smile._

"_I don't know what you're talking about. Besides I'm going to marry Kaoru for the sake of the village. Even if Sasuke did love me, what would make you think he's going to do anything to stop it?"_

_Ino smirked. "Because he's Sasuke Uchiha."_

**End of flashback**

What if what Ino said was true? Sasuke has been acting different ever since Kaoru came. Maybe…just maybe Sasuke Uchiha liked her back after all these tim-

Sakura's eyes widened as she bumped into someone.

"I'm so sorry!" Sakura said as she tried to help the girl up.

"Watch where you're going!" the girl said. Sakura handed her back her glasses. With that the girl walked away.

"What a rude girl…" Sakura whispered. After a few minutes two people came up to her.

"Excuse me…" Sakura turned around to see two men holding luggage. "Have you seen a red head pass by?"

"Did she happen to have glasses?" Sakura asked. "Kinda rude as well?"

"Yup, that's her alright. Can you tell me which way she went?"

Sakura nodded. "She went that way" Sakura said pointing to her right.

"Thank you. By the way I'm Suigetsu. May I learn the name of the beautiful girl that helped me?" Juugo had rolled his eyes then turned his attention to the girl. She was beautiful, but something about her looked familiar.

Sakura blushed. "I'm Sakura Haruno"

"What a beautiful name. It matches you." Suigetsu said with a wink. "Hope to see you around"

"Um yeah…" Sakura said with a smile.

"Let's go Romeo" Juugo said. "Thank you" he said to Sakura.

As the two turned the corner, Juugo has a serious face on. "Suigetsu, that's her"



"Who, Sakura?"

"Doesn't she fit the description and the name?"

"Now that you talked about it she does."

"Sakura Haruno…." Juugo repeated.

Suigetsu's eyes widened. "She's the girl Sasuke's been talking about in his dreams!" Suigetsu remembered a time when Sasuke was having dreams of this girl.

"She was the girl from that picture"

**Flashback**

"_S-Sakura! No!" Sasuke screamed as he turned in his sleep. Juugo and Suigetsu woke up to the yelling. Karin was fast asleep._

"_Sasuke-kun, wake up" Juugo said as he gently tapped on Sasuke's shoulder._

"_SAKURA!" Sasuke's eyes widened as he got up._

_  
"Sasuke, chill, it was just a dream" Suigetsu said as he rubbed his eyes. Sasuke had beads of sweat running down his face as he looked at his hands trembling. He soon put them to his face._

"_Who's Sakura?" Juugo asked._

"…_." Sasuke didn't say anything for a few minutes. Juugo was about to drop the subject but Sasuke finally spoke._

"_S-She's a girl from my village" he said._

"_Your lover?!" Suigetsu said. Sasuke glared at him._

"_She was an old teammate I had back in leaf. She was so annoying. She had a big crush on me."_

"_Is she pretty?" Suigetsu said. Sasuke didn't say anything but go into his bag. He pulled out a wallet size picture. In the picture was Sasuke when he was younger with a chick by his side smiling. She had pink hair and nice green eyes._

"_This was on her birthday…" Sasuke said._

"_She's pretty" Juugo said. "Did you like her back?"_

"……_.." Sasuke didn't say anything again._

"_Well if she doesn't mean anything to you except as a comrade, you can always introduce us" Suigetsu said._

_A rock was thrown at his forehead as he fell back. Juugo saw Sasuke's eyes crimson as he glared at Suigetsu._

"_So you do like her" Juugo said. "Does she know? Have you told her before you left?" Juugo wanted to know as much as he could. This was the first time Sasuke was this talkative. This girl must mean a lot to him._

"_She can't know. I can't let her know. I can't love her back" was all he said._

"_Why? She likes you back"_

"_Because he's still alive!" Sasuke growled as he clenched his fists. "If he found out about her, he'd kill her. That's why I left. I won't let him hurt her. I will not put her life in danger. That's why I need to kill him as soon as possible"_

"_Well she looks like a great girl. You should tell her how you feel before you lose that chance"_

**End of Flashback**

"We can't let Karin find out about those two. Who knows what she'll do." Suigetsu said.

"Suigetsu…Sakura is also the girl from the letter. Remember what have to do." Juugo said.

**Flashback**

_The trio was relaxing as a bird swooped down and dropped two scrolls on Karin's lap._

"_Hm, what's this?" Karin said as she opened it. She began to read aloud._

_**Dear Karin-chan,**_

_**It's been a while since we've seen each other. I have a request to make of you. And I think you'd love to help me with this. It has to deal with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno.**_

"_SASUKE-KUN!!" Karin squealed. Suigetsu and Juugo had to cover their ears. After her moment of screaming, she continued to read._

_**I need you to come to Konoha. You can enter the village with the other scroll. Tell them you're friends of the Kage of the Cloud village, Kaoru Sinobi. When you get here, I will explain what I need you to do.**_

_**-Kaoru Sinobi**_

"_At last! I get to see my Sasuke-kun again!"Karin squealed._

**End of Flashback**

"Damn…" Suigetsu muttered.

"There you two are! You guys are taking so long!" Karin said. "Hurry, we're gonna be late"

The three had finally reached the place to where they were staying at. Outside was a tall guy with dark blue hair and blue eyes.

"Kaoru-kun!" Karin said as she ran up and hugged him.

"Karin-chan, it's been so long" Kaoru soon noticed the boys behind her. "Hey, who are those two?"

"Friends of mine, I hope you don't mind" Karin said.

"Any friends yours are friends of mine" Kaoru said. "Come in, I got this whole place to myself. It would be nice to have people in it."

--

As everyone got settled in, Kaoru had ordered them to the living room. Refreshments were being served.

"I bet you're wondering why I asked you to come" Kaoru said.

Karin smirked. "Knowing you, it's something bad"

"Now, Now, Karin. Anyways the reason I called you is because I'm getting married!" Kaoru said as he jumped up and down.

Suigetsu had a 'wtf' look on his face and Juugo was probably thinking what's wrong with this guy.

"Omg! Really? Who's the poor unfortunate soul?" Karin asked. Kaoru glared at her.

"I'm kidding" Karin said. "No…not really…" She muttered the last part. "So who's the girl?"

"Sakura Haruno" Kaoru said with a smile. Suigetsu, drinking his water, spit it out at Karin who happened to be in front of him.

"SUIGETSU!" Karin screeched as she punched Suigetsu across the room.

"Sakura Haruno? You're marring Sakura Haruno?" Juugo asked. Kaoru turned his attention to him.



"Why yes. Do you know her?" Kaoru asked.

"Uh…I heard about her."

"It seems my sweet Sakura is famous!" Kaoru smiled.

"How did you end up getting engaged?"

"I arranged a marriage with her. It's to stop me for bringing war into this pathetic village. I was asking for the deaths of the Hyuga clan's leader's daughters and nephew, but I saw her coming into the office and I soon changed my mind."

"So you like her" Juugo asked.

"To keep it between you and me, my reason for marrying her is to take away the Hokage's prodigy and then attack this pathetic village. Sakura already surpassed the Hokage. She's almost as strong her teammates. So once I have her, I'll use her powers against this village." Kaoru whispered to Juugo.

"She would never go against her village. I can tell" Juugo said. He didn't know Sakura well, but something in him didn't want her to get used like that.

Kaoru smirked. "If she didn't go with it, might as well just torture her until she dies or just kill her."

"I see" Was all Juugo said. Finally Karin and Suigetsu came back with him all bruised up.

"So why do you need Karin?" Juugo asked.

"It seems that my future wife is in love with Sasuke Uchiha" Kaoru said with disgust.

"What!" Karin screamed. "I will not let that bitch take my Sasuke-kun!"

"There's more" Kaoru said. "Sorry Karin-chan, but it seems that Sasuke is in love with Sakura-chan as well!"

"I'll kill her!" Karin yelled as she grabbed Suigetsu and started choking him.

"That's where you come in Karin-chan" Kaoru stated making Karin stop choking Suigetsu. "You have had history with Sasuke back in Sound, did you not? So you must know some of his weaknesses. I just need you to make it seem like you and Sasuke had something going on when he was in Sound."

"How are you gonna do that? Sasuke hates her" Suigetsu said while dodging one of Karin's punches.



"Leave the rest to me. I only have two more weeks left before heading back to my village. So I think you know what I have in plan."

Karin smiled evilly scaring the crap of Suigetsu and Juugo.

"Watch out Haruno. You will be facing two weeks of a heart break" with that Karin and Kaoru started to laugh evilly and Suigetsu and Juugo just stared at each other.

"Now if you excuse me, I must see my victim" With that Kaoru left with a poof of smoke.

--

"Sorry I'm late!" Sakura said as she met up with her team.

"Sakura-chan! It's okay. Now that she's here, can I please order now Kakashi?" Naruto pleaded.

Kakashi sighed. "Go ahead"

"I must be really late!" Sakura said as she sat down in between Sai and Sasuke.

A bang was heard from the back.

"Teuchi?" Kakashi called out to the shop owner. There wasn't any response for a while, but soon Teuchi came out.

"Ah, sorry about that. Can I take your orders?" Naruto nodded as he began.

A few minutes of taking orders, Teuchi went to the back. Sakura noticed a weird look on Sasuke's face.

"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?"

'_There's something about him I don't like'_

'**I know what you mean Sasuke. Of all the times Naruto dragged us here, he's acting different than usual'**

"Hn…" was all Sasuke said.

"Why were you late hag?" Sai asked. Sai was punched in the faced by Sakura.

"Why were you late?" Kakashi asked.

"I was talking to Ino earlier, and then I accidentally bumped into this red head with glasses. She was rude even when I tried to help her. After that I helped these two guys. One was really tall 

guy with orange hair with him was a boy with bluish gray hair? I couldn't tell, but he had shark like teeth. He was nice"

Sasuke's eyes widened with the description.

'_Oh god, please don't tell me it's them. Especially her.'_

"Oh yeah he told me that his name was Suigetso or something like that? I forgot" With that Sasuke banged his head on the table.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled.

--

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sakura asked.

"Hn…" was all Sasuke could say as his cheeks were pink.

"Here's your food" Teuchi said as he served everyone their food. Naruto began to chow down on his noodles. A minute later, he made a disgusted face. He soon fainted.

"What's wrong dickless?"

"The ramen! Something is wrong with the ramen! It's missing! It's missing its secret taste! The taste I love so much.

Teuchi rolled his eyes as he served Sasuke his bowl.

"Stop making a sense dobe, it's embarrassing." Teuchi's eyes glint as he dropped a pill into his Sasuke's bowl, as the pill dissolved in the soup.

"So sorry about that Naruto-kun, I'm not in that mood" Soon Teuchi left against leaving everyone to eat.

"It doesn't taste bad" Sakura said as she ate hers. "It taste the same"

Sasuke had finished his bowl. His eyes soon widened.

'_What's wrong with me? I feel so weak. I…'_

Sasuke fainted as everyone started at him shocked.

The gang quickly took Sasuke to the closest house which was Kakashi's as Sakura healed him.

As soon as the gang left, Ayame cane into the restaurant.



"Dad, I'm back from t-"Her eyes widened as she saw her dad unconscious. A scream was heard from that area.

--

"Sasuke-kun seems to be okay." Sakura said as she finished checking up on him. "I wonder what caused him to faint"

"Probably too much training or something" Naruto said. Kakashi had left because he had a mission to go to and Sai went to find something new to draw.

"He looks so peaceful when he sleeps" Sakura said with a smile. Naruto stared at her.

"You really are in love with him…" Naruto said with a smile. Sakura blushed but smiled.

"He loves you back. I can tell; I'm his best friend. He's probably too shy to tell you."

"You really think so?" Sakura asked him.

"I know so" Naruto said with a smile.

Sasuke soon woke up as he noticed Sakura and Naruto hovering over him.

"How do you feel?" Sakura asked. Sasuke didn't say anything as he tried to get up.

"You should relax!" Sakura said trying to get him to lie down. "You fainted earlier."

Sasuke nodded. "Thanks…"

"Well I have to go; I need to meet Gaara at the gates. He and Temari are visiting" Naruto said as he left.

"Oh that's right. I have to go to Ino's house. We're gonna have a girls night" Sakura said.

"I'll walk you there" Sasuke said.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked. Sasuke nodded as he got up. Sakura smiled.

The two walked to down the streets. Sakura was turning red because their hands would keep brushing. As they were a block or two away from Ino's a girl came and jumped onto Sasuke's back.

"Sasuke-kun! I missed you! I haven't seen my baby since you left us to go back to your village."

"K-Karin…" Sasuke said. Sakura's eyes widened. That was the girl she bumped into earlier. Karin noticed Sakura next to him. She got off of Sasuke and walked up to Sakura.



"What are you doing with my Sasuke-kun?!" Karin asked.

"Karin, don't. It's obvious Sasuke was walking her somewhere" Suigetsu said.

'_The boys I saw earlier'_ Sakura said to herself.

"Well let me tell you something, pinky!" Karin said as she poked Sakura on the forehead. "Sasuke and I had something back at Sound. I took something of his that you can never have, if you know what I mean." Karin said as she smirked at the expression of Sakura's face.

'_Does she mean that she and Sasuke had s…?' _Sakura couldn't even finish what she was thinking. The atmosphere around her got thick as she couldn't breathe.

"He loves me, but you must have done something to brainwash him. Isn't that right Sasuke-kun?" Karin asked as she pecked Sasuke on the cheek.

"I love you…" Sasuke said. Sakura's heart broke at the spot.

"Poor girl…" Juugo whispered to Suigetsu.

"She doesn't deserve this" Suigetsu said back,

"Now let me make it clear. Sasuke belongs to me, and you have no chance taking him away from me." Sakura couldn't even look at Sasuke.

Just to make the situation worse, Karin grabbed Sasuke and kissed him. Something in Sasuke's eyes changed as he kissed Karin back. That was that as Sakura ran away to Ino's broken. Karin soon pulled away and smiled.

"Kaoru-kun, you can come out now" Karin said. Kaoru came out as he clapped.

"Excellent job Karin-chan." Kaoru said.

"What did you do to Sasuke?" Juugo asked.

"I drugged him. So every time Sasuke with Karin, he will be like this. It's like he's in a trance. It should last for two weeks. The trance can't be broken. So in two weeks, Sakura will be crying and I will make myself look good, so she will have to choose to marry me."

"You're so evil!" Karin said. Deep down, something was telling her she shouldn't continue this, but she ignored it.

--

Knocking was heard as Ino looked at her door.

"That must be Sakura or Hinata" Ino said. Temari and Tenten were already there.

When Ino opened the door, she was surprised with a crying Sakura. Hearing the sobbing, Temari and Tenten quickly ran to Sakura's side as she continued to cry.

"Sakura, what's wrong?!" Tenten asked as she made rolling motions on Sakura's back. Ino was just stroking her hair as Temari was rubbing her arm. Sakura just clung onto Ino's shirt and cried her eyes out.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

**Poor Sakura! I felt sad writing this. Karin has made her appearance. How evil Kaoru is. Even though I created him, I hate him. Poor Sasuke, not knowing what's happening. There's going to be a lot of tensions, hatred, and sadness in the next few chapters. The wedding is coming up as well. OMG! Will Kaoru's plan work? **

**Please review everyone :D**

**-Kumiko**


	9. Chapter 9: Love in a tree?

**Yes! Finally got a chance to update this story. I've been so busy with school and stuff rawr. As we last ended with this story, Karin has come to town which means trouble for Sakura and Sasuke, especially with Kaoru teaming up with Karin. Yikes Will Karin bring Sasuke and Sakura further apart or will something happen to help them get closer before the wedding which is coming in two week! Double Yikes**

**Last time on Before it's too late**

_Knocking was heard as Ino looked at her door._

"_That must be Sakura or Hinata" Ino said. Temari and Tenten were already there._

_When Ino opened the door, she was surprised with a crying Sakura. Hearing the sobbing, Temari and Tenten quickly ran to Sakura's side as she continued to cry._

"_Sakura, what's wrong?!" Tenten asked as she made rolling motions on Sakura's back. Ino was just stroking her hair as Temari was rubbing her arm. Sakura just clung onto Ino's shirt and cried her eyes out._

--

Loud knocking was heard as Sakura was telling the girls what happened.

"I'll get it" Ino said as she opened the door. As Ino opened the door, Misa came stomping in as an evil aura surrounded her.

"Where's Sakura!" Misa demanded. Ino, shaking, pointed to the living room. Misa entered the living room to see Temari hugging Sakura as Hinata was patting her back. Tenten was just mouthing curse words.

Misa frowned. "Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked up to see her cousin as she began to retell the story.

"Oh hell no! I'm going to kill her" Misa said as she started to laugh evilly.

"I give up…" Sakura whispered.

"What?" Ino asked.

"I said I give up! Sasuke never loved me! I told you that before. I got my hopes up thinking he did feel the same way! But I was wrong. He had a lover back at Sound and she took something of his I can never have!" Sakura shouted.

Ino's eyes widened. Sakura had never told her that part.



"Y-You mean that Sasuke-san and that girl…?" Hinata quickly covered her mouth in shock.

"Whatever. Sasuke can be with her. As long as he's happy with her I don't care anymore. Just two more weeks and I won't have to deal with it anymore"

"Two weeks?" Temari questioned. "What's going on in two weeks?"

The girls had forgotten that Temari didn't know about the deal going on. Luckily Gaara wouldn't either. He was overprotective when it came to Sakura.

"I'm getting engaged" Sakura said trying to sound happy.

"Really? To who?" Temari asked.

"The Kage of the Cloud village" Sakura said. Hinata frowned.

"Wait! You're engaged but you're still in love with the Uchiha guy?" Temari said. Sakura didn't say anything but think about what Temari just said.

"How troublesome!" A voice said. The girls looked to see Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, and Gaara.

"How long have you guys been standing there?" Tenten asked.

"Long enough to hear what happened" Gaara said. "I won't let you go through with this. Neji told me the whole story" Sakura glared at Neji who looked away.

"I wish you could" Naruto muttered.

"I'll just kill him" Gaara said as he began to walk out the door.

Sakura quickly got up "Do that and you can say goodbye to my chocolate chip cookies!"

Everyone watched as Gaara had completely stopped in his steps. He soon went back to his spot as he frowned at Sakura.

"Fine I won't kill the bastard" Gaara grumbled.

"Whoa! Who would have thought Gaara would stop killing someone for cookies?" Naruto said. Everyone nodded as Gaara had a light blush on his cheeks.

"Anyways…" Gaara said. "We came here to tell you that we have a mission"

"A mission?" Tenten questioned.

"Yes, it seems that there have been attacks at a village for a while and they asked for assistance." Gaara said. "We came here to talk to Tsunade about the issue. But there have also been reports of 

seeing members of Akatsuki roaming around. That's why Tsunade and I want my sister, Nara, the two Hyuga, Tenten, Lee, Uchiha, Ino, and Sakura to go on the mission. Kakashi and Kurenai will be coming along as well. Naruto, you will be staying here.

"What!" Naruto yelled. "Why can't I go?"

"Because they might be after you, you idiot" Sakura said as she bonked him in the head. Naruto clutched his head as tears formed in his eyes.

"That hurt Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined.

"How long will the mission last?" Hinata asked.

"It should last a bit over a week" Gaara said. "You are to leave in an 30 and should get ready. Then go to Tsunade so she can tell you more about the mission"

--

"In a couple minutes, you will leave to go to the outskirts of the forest to help the villages with the attackers. We are not sure if Akatsuki are the ones behind the attack. Most likely they're just destroying villages for fun. But this is Akatsuki so we can never be too sure." Tsunade said. "So I got extra help"

The door opened as two people came in. Sakura's and Sasuke's eyes widened. Entering the door was Kaoru and Karin. Karin looked at Sakura as Sakura looked away. Karin smirked as she went to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, isn't this great, we're going on a mission together. It will be like old times!" Karin squealed as she put her arms around Sasuke. The girls looked at Sakura to see she looked completely oblivious to the scene, and that scared them.

"What the f-"Sasuke was about to say until Kaoru snapped his fingers. "Yes, just like old times"

Tsunade's mouth dropped at the lovey dovey scene as did everyone else.

"I think we have enough people" Neji stated.

"I thought so too, but this girl convinced me. She's a tracker and will be a very good help to the mission. Kaoru didn't want to be left alone in the village and you know why I can go against his orders…" Tsunade muttered the last part. "Kakashi, Kurenai, and Shikamaru will be leading the mission. Whatever you do, be careful of your actions and come back safe"

"Yes" Everyone said as they nodded. Sakura didn't say anything as she silently left the room and slammed the door. Knowing her, she probably wanted to let go of all her feelings at the moment, so she had to stall time for her. Tsunade glared at Kaoru and the new girl in front of her. She had a funny feeling those two were planning something.



--

Sakura took a deep sigh as tears finally came down her face. She clutched her shirt where her heart was. Sakura rested her head against the wall.

"Why? Why does it hurt so much…?" Sakura quietly asked herself. "Why did Sasuke have to play with my feelings? Did those moments mean nothing to him?" Sakura clenched her fists as she soon disappeared into cheery blossoms. Naruto soon took down the sheet that made him blend to the wall next to where Sakura was standing.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered. The door opened as people soon left the room. First coming out of the door was Kaoru and Karin. Naruto quickly put the sheet back on.

"You did an excellent job Karin-chan. Your act will soon send Sakura-chan to me and Sasuke-san will lose her forever."

"I can finally get Sasuke-kun" Karin said with a smile. "Just two more weeks then I won't have any interruptions by that girl"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Making sure those two were gone, Naruto angrily opened the door and entered the room.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Shizune muttered as Naruto went straight to Sasuke and punched him in the face. Sasuke crashed into the other side of the room as he blinked a few times before looking up at the enraged Naruto.

"What the hell was that for?!" Sasuke yelled.

"Why do you always do that? Do you enjoy hurting Sakura-chan and making her cry?" Naruto shouted as he pulled Sasuke by the collar. Shikamaru and Lee quickly went to pull Naruto away from Sasuke.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked as he pushed Naruto away from him.

"Why did you make Sakura cry?" Naruto asked again.

"I didn't make her cry. What are you talking about?" Sasuke said. Naruto stared at Sasuke long and hard before knowing that Sasuke clearly didn't know what he was talking about.

"You don't remember what you did?" Naruto asked him.

"All I remember is…Karin coming up to me…then here I am" Kakashi had looked up from his book at the scene.

'_I wonder…' _Kakashi stared at Sasuke before looking back at his book.

--



The gang was jumping from branch to branch as they headed to the village. Neji was looking around their surroundings before narrowing his eyes.

"Stop" He said. "We're being followed" Kakashi looked back at the forest to see someone heading towards them. People got their weapons out just in case of an attack.

"Oi!" Everyone's face dropped.

"Naruto…" Everyone muttered.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Sakura asked as she hit Naruto in the head.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered.

"Tsunade-sama specifically asked you to stay back in the village." Kakashi said.

"Do you think I'd like it if everyone went on a mission without me, especially with Akatsuki involved?" Naruto said as he smirked. "Besides I have a score to settle with that one guy that killed Gaara."

"Naruto…" Temari said with a smile.

"We probably can't stop you anyways…" Shikamaru said. "Now let's go"

After a couple minutes, the gang had finally reached the village.

"State you business" The guards said, but stopped when they noticed the leaf sign on their headband.

"They're from Konoha" With that the guards let them pass.

"Thank you…" Sakura said as she smiled at the guards who blushed in response.

Sasuke, Kaoru, Lee, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and Kakashi glared at the guards with murderous glares. Naruto's, Shikamaru's, Neji's, and Kakashi's glares were due to their over protectiveness with their cherry blossom. Sasuke's, Kaoru's, and Lee's were due to their jealousy and over protectiveness.

Karin growled to herself jealous of the reaction Sakura was getting. "Just wait Haruno; you'll get what you deserve…" Unknown to her a shy Hyuga heard every word she said.

Sakura walked in the village first as her eyes widened. Part of the village looked as if it were destroyed by bombs. "T-This is horrible"



"We've been attacked so much, the villagers are afraid to come out of their homes." A voice said. The gang looked to see an old man coming up to them. "You must be the ninja from Konoha. Thank you for coming to help us in our time of need."

"It's no problem. Konoha is glad to help" Sakura said.

"Sorry we don't have hotels and stuff you have back in your village. But we have huts that fit three people each."

"Thank you…um…"

"Oh how rude of me. The name is Leo; I'm the leader of this village" Leo said.

"I'm Haruno Sakura." Sakura introduced herself. The others began to introduce themselves as well.

"We'll let me show you to your huts" Leo said as he slowly walked them to where they would be staying.

As they walked around, you could see people looking at them through their windows. Leo was right, the villagers were afraid to leave their homes.

'_We'll change that'_ Naruto thought.

"I want to-"Karin was about to yell as Naruto quickly grabbed Sakura and Sasuke.

"Team seven will be sleeping with each other" Karin glared at Naruto as Naruto stuck his tongue at her.

"Don't let it get to you Karin-chan…" Kaoru whispered to her. "With Uzumaki with them, they can't do anything"

Kakashi's ears twitched as he looked at the suspicious duo. "Neji, Hinata, and Tenten will share a hut. Ino, Temari, and Shikamaru will be in the next one."

"How troublesome, why am I stuck with the two bossy blondes" That moment earned him two bumps in the head.

"Karin, Kaoru-sama, and…" The two could have sworn they saw an evil glint in his eye. "Lee, you will join them in their hut. Kurenai and I will be sharing one." Kakashi said with a smile. "Well let's get settle everyone"

--

Sakura began putting her stuff to the area she wanted to stay at. "Do you two want me to help you rearranged your stuff as well?"



"Nah, it's okay" Naruto said with a grin. "We got it" Sakura just nodded before leaving the tent.

"Now's your chance Sasuke!" Naruto said as he pumped his fist down.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked him. He knew exactly what Naruto was talking about. Naruto wasn't as dumb as everyone thought he was.

"This mission could be your chance to completely win Sakura-chan over from Kaoru. Everyone can tell you love her and it's painful for us and painful to you to watch some bastard come and take her away. He only knew her for like weeks while you knew her for years. You know how to make her happy, you know what's best for her, and you know what you must do"

Sasuke chuckled. "Who would have known I'd be hearing this from you"

"But…I think it would be best If you distant yourself from that friend of yours Sasuke…" A voice said. The two best friends looked up to see Kakashi leaning against the wall.

"When did you get in here?" Naruto yelled.

"You mean Karin?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know why but I have a feeling she's behind the reason why you kiss her and all that romantic stuff" Kakashi said. Naruto and Sasuke nodded before Sasuke's eyes widened.

"I what?!" He yelled.

"So I was right. You didn't know what you were doing…" Naruto said.

"What do you mean I kissed her?" Sasuke asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"You see, it seems that every time she appears you act like you guys are all lovey dovey. You two did that earlier in Tsunade-sama's office. That's why Naruto was punching you." Kakashi said.

Sasuke soon thought about all those times when Karin would show up and he would forget what would happen.

"But Kakashi-sensei, isn't it weird how this all started when Sasuke fainted earlier."

"Maybe it was something in the ramen and Karin triggered it or something…" Kakashi said.

"No, it can't be the ramen. They're so delicious" Naruto said as he hugged a cup of one.

'_He needs help…'_ Kakashi and Sasuke thought.



"The best thing to do is just avoid her at all cost. You don't know who is getting hurt because of this…" Kakashi said as he put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "And be careful of Kaoru too. I have a feeling he's also behind this as well an-"

"A-Are you guys ready?" a timid voice interrupted.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto said as he hugged her. Hinata turned red.

"Whatever…" Sasuke said as he walked out of the hut.

"S-So, you too also have been having those feelings" Hinata said.

"You heard?" Kakashi said. Hinata quickly bowed her head as if embarrassed that she was caught.

"Y-yes, sorry for eavesdropping…" Hinata said.

"Don't worry about it" Kakashi sweat dropped. "So you have been having suspicions as well?"

"Yes, earlier when we were entering the gate. I was walking behind Karin-san and she was getting mad at Sakura-chan again. Then I heard her say 'just wait Haruno; you'll get what you deserve…' Hinata said in an evil voice. "And in the Hokage's office, I observed that Sasuke-san didn't react to Karin-san immediately until I noticed that Kaoru-san had snapped his fingers out of nowhere"

"So those two are behind this" Kakashi said.

"Hinata-chan, you're so smart!" Naruto said as he kissed her on the lips. "We need to tell Sasuke"

--

Sasuke arrived at the group.

"Sasuke-kun!" Karin yelled as she waved at him. Sasuke just ignored her and looked to see Sakura talking to Neji. He could tell Neji had told Sakura that he had arrived. He watched as she gave him a glance before ignoring him.

'_So this is who Kakashi was talking about…' _Sasuke thought

"_**The best thing to do is just avoid her at all cost. You don't know who is getting hurt because of this…"**_

'_I'm sorry Sakura' _

Kakashi, Naruto, and Hinata soon arrived.



"Okay! The youngsters are all here, now let me show you around before it gets dark." Leo said with a smile. As Leo talked about his village, the gang just admired the scenery. Everyone was walking in two. Kakashi and Kurenai were walking behind the group. In front of them were Tenten and Neji, Temari and Lee, Kaoru and Karin, Ino and Shikamaru, Naruto and Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura, then Leo in front.

Karin and Kaoru were mad that Sasuke and Sakura were walking up ahead together, but they had to keep their act cool to avoid suspicions. Kaoru was mumbling about how he was gonna beat up Sasuke and other stuff like that.

Karin continued to glare at the couple ahead. She watched as Sakura was listening to what the old geezer was talking about as Sasuke seemed bored as hell. Soon a flower flew in the air and got caught in Sakura's hair. She watched as Sakura was having a hard time taking it off. Karin's eyes widened as she saw Sasuke chuckle before taking it off for her. Sakura had blushed before she turned around trying to avoid Sasuke from seeing her face, which was as pink as her hair. Sasuke seemed to say something to make Sakura face him again, before he poked her forehead before smiling.

That was the first time Karin had ever seen him smile like that. He looked really happy. Not like how he was back at Sound where he always looked sad and angry. He looked at peace…all because of…

"Haruno Sakura…" Karin whispered to herself. She soon noticed that the old guy finally stopped somewhere in the forest.

"This here is the legendary tree in this village" Leo said. The gang looked at the large tree in front of them.

"Legendary?" Tenten questioned.

"Why yes my dear bun head…" Leo said. Tenten's eyes twitched as Neji tried to hold his laughter.

'_Neji is laughing at me'_ Tenten said in her head as she blushed. _'But at least he's laughing. It sounds so peaceful'_

"This here tree has a story behind it. Once upon a time, there lived a young man from this village. He was the son of the king from this village. He had gotten tired and fell asleep from walking around the forest. When he woke up, he saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had blonde hair and purple eyes to match. She was said to be a fairy or angel. The two would talk for hours before he left. He asked her if she could meet him again. She agreed as watched him leave.

Soon every day the two would meet. He didn't know where she came from, he didn't even know her name, but a fool could tell he was very much in love. But news came that the man had to be engaged to a princess from another country. That broke the girl's heart.



'Will I never find love?' She asked herself as she cried on this very tree." Leo patted on the spot where the girl happened to sit.

The man was at the area in the village where the wedding was to be held. In the crowd, he saw a man who kept staring at the bride and the bride kept staring back at him. He noticed that the two were in love. So he told the girl to go to the one she truly loves. She thanked him many times before hugging the man in the crowd.

The king began to yell at his son for not going through with the wedding. The son just smiled and said he needed to go see the woman he loved as he ran into the forest. He went back to this very tree. It was late when he arrived. He put a hand on the tree and began to pray out loud.

'I wish I would see her again to tell her I love her…' the man said as a tear escaped his eye. He watched his tear shined and light formed from the tree.

'I love you as well' a voice said. The man looked to see the girl he loved float down from the tree.

'Y-You are a-'

'A fairy' she said with a smile. 'And I have fallen in love with you.' The man smiled back as he hugged her.

'I love you with all my heart' He said as he kissed her. She began to glow as she smiled.

'A fairy has fallen in love, now you have one wish' she said. 'Choose your wish wisely'

Leo began to crack up during the story ruining the romantic moment. Lee was crying in the back ground. "What a beautiful story!"

Ino smiled. "Indeed it is"

"What did he wish for?" Naruto asked.

"What a man he was…" Leo said as he smiled. The others smiled back."His wish was…" Leo put his head down. A few minutes passed as no words came from him. Soon you could hear snoring sounds as Sasuke's eyes twitched.

'_He fell asleep…'_

'**You can't help it, he's old. You'll be like that when you're his age'**

Sasuke tried to imagine his self telling little kids about his heroic adventures with the Hokage as he fell asleep.

'_Let's hope not'_



"Hey old man! Wake up" Naruto shouted. Leo's eyes widened.

"Ah oh yes, sorry about that you youngsters. Now, where was I…ah yes…as I was saying. 'A fairy has fallen in love, now you have one wish' she said. 'Choose your wish wisely'

The man thought about it for a few minutes as the moon began to shine on them. 'I wish...' he said as he held her hands. 'I wish I could be with you always and help people fall in love or help them realize who their true love is' The fairy smiled as tears fell on the ground.

'Your wish is granted' she said as the tree began to glow. 'We shall help people fall in love and show them they are meant to be' soon with that the fairy and the prince fell in love and lived happily ever after here in this very tree as they became spirits to help the people who needs it" Leo said as he finished the story.

"What a beautiful story" Sakura said as she stared at the tree. "Imagine…falling in love like that…"

"Yes, very beautiful story indeed." Leo said with a smile. "Too bad it's just a myth" he said crushing Sakura's fantasy. "Well let's carry on, there's still more grounds to cover before it gets dark"

Sakura stayed back as she touched the tree. To her it felt warm.

'_Just a myth…'_ Sakura told herself.

"Forehead girl, let's go!" Ino called out.

"I'm coming!" Sakura said as she ran to her friends. Unknown to her, light giggles were heard from the tree.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

**Taa-daa! What do you guys think? I really like the tree story. Can't believe I came up with that in 5 minutes. Haha. Kakashi, Naruto, and Hinata as finally figured out part of Kaoru's and Karin's plan. But has any of you noticed the significance of Karin watching Sasuke and Sakura on their way to the forest and the story? If you haven't, you just have to wait till the upcoming chapters. I think it was mean of me to make Lee stay in the hut with Karin and Kaoru. Don't worry, the evil duo won't do anything to Lee.**

**I have the dreaded finals coming up. So not ready and it's making me stress just thinking about it. **

**Well please review :**

**Kumiko**


	10. Chapter 10: Into the night

**I couldn't wait. I had to update. **

**Last time on Before it's too late**

"_What a beautiful story" Sakura said as she stared at the tree. "Imagine…falling in love like that…"_

"_Yes, very beautiful story indeed." Leo said with a smile. "Too bad it's just a myth" he said crushing Sakura's fantasy. "Well let's carry on, there's still more grounds to cover before it gets dark"_

_Sakura stayed back as she touched the tree. To her it felt warm. _

'_Just a myth…' Sakura told herself._

"_Forehead girl, let's go!" Ino called out. _

"_I'm coming!" Sakura said as she ran to her friends. Unknown to her, light giggles were heard from the tree._

**--**

Everyone was sound asleep as Sakura continued to stare up at the ceiling. She continued to think about her situation and Sasuke. In two weeks, she would get married to Kaoru and she wouldn't have to deal with Sasuke and that girl. She kept telling herself she wouldn't care, but she couldn't help but wonder.

"Were you just messing around with me?" Sakura whispered to the sleeping Sasuke across the room. She silently got up and walked outside the hut, making sure not to wake up the other two.

Sakura had walked to a nearby lake as the moonlight shined upon it, making the water sparkle. Sakura hugged her knees as she looked at her reflection. She soon saw blue eyes but didn't make any moves to get up and run.

"Deidara…." Sakura said.

"So you know me, yeah?" Deidara said with a grin.

"You are on the bingo book, a member of Akatsuki. So you have been attacking the village!" Sakura said as she continued to look at the lake. Deidara was amazed that she wasn't showing any sign of fear.

"What's a girl like you doing here about by yourself? Anyone can come and hurt you, you know, yeah" Deidara took a seat next to the girl. Sakura had carefully looked at him. If he wanted to hurt her, he would have done so already.

Deidara's eyes widened as he saw her. He had seen her before, back when they were after Gaara. She was the one who killed Sasori. But he had never seen her like this. The moonlight as the 

water had reflected on her face. It was a stunning sight to see. The only thing that seemed out of place was her expression. It was so sad and confused. It didn't seem right to see that on her face.

Deidara's eyes widened. What was he doing? Here he was with the enemy, and he's worrying about her face. Tobi was probably rubbing off on him.

"Why are you attacking the village?" Sakura asked. "These are innocent people, and they have done no wrong"

Deidara hesitated to tell her. She was the enemy after all. But he told her anyways. "We're trying to get a scroll. They have it and they didn't agree to hand it over, so we just bombed it for fun. It's really boring as hell over at the base. Kisame is drunk all the time, ever since Itachi died. Tobi just annoys the hell out of us both. Always around and hyper, yeah"

Sakura giggled a bit. "Reminds me of Naruto, Tobi that is"

There, Deidara thought. That was what belonged on her face.

"Are you not afraid, yeah?" Deidara asked.

Sakura didn't say anything for a minute. "No, even if you killed people. I've done the same as well, even if I didn't like it. We're still the same. We're still all human right?"

Deidara felt weird inside. She was the first person to consider him human. Other people thought of him as a monster. Even his own mother had, when she saw the mouth on his hand.

"Thanks, yeah" Deidara said as he kissed Sakura on the cheek. He then disappeared into the night. Sakura just stood there dumbstruck. She was just kissed by an S-rank criminal! But he was nice. What has she gotten herself into now?

Sakura got up to go back into the hut. She quietly got back in and went to sleep, in a good mood this time.

Sasuke had opened his eyes. Where did she go this late at night? She came back safe and that was all that mattered. He soon went back to sleep.

--

It was morning as everyone was eating breakfast. Leo had joined them to make them feel welcomed. Sakura continued to think about what Deidara had told her.

"_**We're trying to get a scroll. They have it and they didn't agree to hand it over…"**_

"_I wonder what's so important about a scroll'_



"Hey Leo-sama, I was wondering, do you have any scrolls that deals with medical?" Sakura asked trying to see if he would take the bait and led on to talking about the scroll Deidara wanted.

"Why yes, we have many. We have another scroll, very important, yes indeed. Three members from the Akatsuki came and asked for it, but we said no. So they began to attack our village" Leo began to stroke his long beard. Hit, line, and sinker…

"What's so important about a scroll?" Ino asked.

"Listen here blonde, this scroll is special" Leo said as he began to search for something under his robe. He soon took out a scroll.

Kakashi sweat dropped. "Isn't it kind of dangerous to hold the scroll, it could drop or something"

"That's why it's so special" Leo said "You want to know why?" Soon everyone gathered around to hear.

Leo smiled as he unrolled it. "It's blank!" He said with a smile. Everyone fell out of their chairs except for Sakura. Thank god for Tsunade's training. Since she became Tsunade's apprentice, she had to deal with scrolls and Tsunade had thought her how to read scrolls like this. The old man was right. The scroll was completely blank.

"Then why does Akatsuki want a blank scroll?" Tenten asked.

"That's a very good question bun head, that's because they want the real scroll" Leo said.

"Then you've hidden the scroll somewhere safe?" Shikamaru said.

"Actually no, it's gone" Leo said.

"D-Did someone take it?" Hinata asked.

"Nope" Leo said.

"Then what happened to it?" Karin asked.

"You see many years ago…" Leo then put his head down. Everyone just waited until you could hear snoring coming from him.

'_He fell asleep again while telling a story'_ everyone thought.

"Wake up" Naruto said.

Leo soon woke up. "Is it time for dinner?"

"No, you were telling us a story about the scroll" Kaoru said.



"Ah yes! You see, many years ago, during my first few years as leader of this village, a Hokage from your village had asked us to hide this scroll. So as I was starting a fire for the village's traditional bonfire, I had accidentally dropped the scroll in the fire" Leo said with a smile.

'_He burnt the scroll? How did he become the leader of this village?'_ Everyone thought again.

"So I replaced the scroll and said there was a jutsu placed under it, making it blank. Smart huh?"

"What was the scroll about?" Naruto asked.

"You know, you look just like the Hokage who gave me the scroll" Leo said with a smile.

"The fourth Hokage gave you that scroll?" Kakashi asked.

"Yup. It was about how to make the perfect ramen ever!" Leo said. Naruto's eyes glint as the words 'the perfect ramen' came to his ears.

"A scroll to make the perfect ramen ever…" Naruto said as he slowly turned around. "AND YOU DROP IT TO THE FIRE! Oh father, why were you so cruel to leave it in the hands of this man?"

Soon Sakura hit him in the head. "Naruto, you're being really rude!" Sakura scolded him. "But why would Akatsuki want that scroll?"

"Who knows" Leo said. "Oh yes, that reminds me! We're having our annual bonfire coming up soon in three days. You can buy a yukata at some of the stores here. You must wear a mask to hide your identity. It's for fun. There will be dances, food, and games."

"Sounds fun" Temari said.

"Sounds fun indeed…" A voice said from the trees. "It seems the scroll was burnt, but that doesn't mean why can't have any fun right?"

"Heh, fun as in ruining their bonfire, yeah?"

"Tobi wants to go to a bonfire!"

"Shut up, yeah"

--

"We should go look for a yukata!" Ino said.

"Yes just us five!" Tenten said.

"Six" Sakura said.



"What do you mean, there's only five of us forehead-girl; you, me, Hinata, Tenten, and Temari"

"You guys are forgetting Karin-san" Hinata said.

"You're considering inviting her to come with us?" Ino asked. "She's trying to steal Sasuke away from you"

"Doesn't mean I have to be mean to her, right?" Sakura said. Tenten sighed.

"You are too nice for your own good" Sakura just laughed as she went to Karin's hut.

"Hello" Sakura said as she smiled.

"Ah, Sakura-chan!" Kaoru said as he hugged her. "I finally get to see you for once!"

"Haha yeah, but I'm here to talk to Karin" Sakura said. Kaoru looked at Karin to see her nod at him as he left the hut.

"What, are you hear to talk about me and Sasuke-kun? Well forget it, he loves me, get that through your big forehead okay?!" Karin said.

Sakura tried to control her inner self from coming out.

"**Let me at her! Let me teach this bitch a lesson! Shanarro!" **

"Actually, I came here to ask if you wanted to come with me and the girls to pick out yukatas together" Sakura said. Karin soon regretted saying what she just said.

'_Even after I said that, she still asked me to go with her…' _Karin thought.

"Okay…" Karin said as the two headed to the girls.

--

"Hinata, you should get this! It will look really cute on you. Naruto's mouth will drop when he sees you in this!" Ino teased as Hinata blushed. She was currently trying on a grey yukata with a blue obi to match. The yukata had nice cloud designs on it.

"I'll be getting this one. I just love the color" Ino said. She was holding an orange yukata with grass designs on the tips of the bottom and flowers with colorful butterflies on it. It had a yellow obi to go with it.

Temari had bought a purple yukata with fan designs, go figure. It was really cute thought. It had a nice lavender obi. Tenten got a green yukata with yellow flowers on it and a yellow obi to go along with it. The girls were surrounding Hinata as they helped her find a yukata. Sakura turned around to see Karin just looking around the store. She could tell Karin was feeling shy.



"Hey, did you find a yukata yet?" Karin didn't say anything as she shook her head. Sakura made a face before grabbing Karin and looking around the store. After a couple of minutes, Sakura found something.

"How about this" Sakura was holding a nice grayish blue yukata with dark blue star designs with a red obi. It seemed to go well with Karin. Karin had looked at the design before nodding.

"Thanks…" She said. "Did you find one yet?"

"Nope" Sakura said as she looked around. "I'm the only one who doesn't have one yet!"

"I'll help…" Karin said. Sakura stared at Karin as she looked away with a light blush on her face.

"Thank you!" Sakura said with a smile. Karin looked around until she found one that seemed to match Sakura perfectly. It was a white yukata with a soft light pink obi to go with it. It had a beautiful light pink design.

"I think this would go well with you" Karin said. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw it. It was beautiful.

"I love it! Let's go pay for this right away" Sakura said as she and Karin went to the cashier.

--

Naruto watched as people from the village started to go out more. There hasn't been an attack yet.

"People, I have great news!" Leo said as people began to exit their homes to go see what Leo had to say. "I had just received news from the enemy. They said that they have lost interest of the scroll and will not harm this village anymore!" People began to cheer.

"I guess we weren't needed after all" Shikamaru said.

"You guys are still invited to the bonfire coming up, think of this as a little vacation I guess" Leo said.

"Thank you, I guess we can still stick around just to be sure that they are complete gone" Kakashi said.

"Yes, yes! Please go and explore this village we have a nice hot spa up ahead, you ninja need it" Leo said. "Everything will be on the house"

Leo soon led the boys to the spa as they got relaxed.

"This feels great. It's almost as good as Konoha's!" Naruto said.



"For once I agree" Sasuke said.

"So are you gonna ask her?" Naruto asked.

"Ask who?"

"Sakura-san of course!" Lee said.

"She's going with me" Kaoru said with a smirk on his face. Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke just glared at him.

"She's-"Sasuke was cut off when Kaoru snapped his fingers. "She's going with him; I shall be going with Karin"

Naruto's mouth dropped and so did Neji's. "You're what"

"You heard him" Kaoru said. "I'm going with Sakura-chan and he'll go with Karin-chan"

The boys looked at each other then back at Sasuke.

"Are you serious?" Shikamaru asked. "What about Sakura"

"What about her?" Sasuke asked.

--

The girls had also gone to the spa as they heard what the boys had said. Karin knew that Sasuke didn't mean that. It was only because of Kaoru. Sakura had become silent and this made Karin feel even guiltier. Sakura had been nice to her when no one else was, and this is what she returned for her kindness.

"I don't feel like going anymore. You can go with Sasuke in replace of me" Soon Karin froze. Why did she just say that?

"It's okay, you guys are lovers so you guys should go with each other" Sakura said in a fake happy tone. "Besides, it's only right that I go with Kaoru-san, we will be married in a week or two"

Karin's guilt only grew more.

'_Why do I want to tell her what's really going on' _Karin told herself. _'This is too confusing for me! Sasuke belongs to me, who cares if she gets hurt in the processes?"_

"Well, I guess I'm done for today. I'll be going back to the hut" Karin said as she got up and left.

--



Sakura looked up at the starry night. She couldn't sleep again. She looked up at the legendary tree that was near the lake. It was tall, so she could see it from here. Sakura wiped her tears away.

"Why is my love life so difficult? Stupid Sasuke messing with my feelings like that! He's so-"

"So what?" A voice asked. Sakura's eyes widened as she felt her heart beat faster. She looked at the reflection to see onyx eyes. Why didn't she have this reaction towards Deidara?

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"You weren't in the hut and I was worried" Sasuke said. Sakura soon let out a laugh.

"Amazing! Uchiha Sasuke was worried about me?" Sakura said sarcastically as she got up and brushed shoulders with Sasuke.

"What's your problem?" Sasuke asked as he grabbed her wrist.

"What's my problem? I should be asking you!" Sakura yelled. "You're the one messing around with me!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as Sakura had tears coming down her cheeks. She quickly ran away.

"Sakura!" Sasuke said as he chased after her. While he did, he remembered the scene that happened when they got back from the spa.

**Flashback**

"_Sasuke, you need to fight it!" Naruto yelled at him. _

"_What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked._

"_Kaoru's been putting you in a trance! One day he might make you do something that could hurt Sakura-chan more than you have already!"_

"_I'll tell Sakura then" Sasuke said._

"_That wouldn't be such a good idea. Good job on figuring out my plan, Uzumaki" Kaoru said as he moved his blue bangs away from his face. "Who would have known the idiot of the village would ruin my plans" Kaoru was leaning against the door._

"_Why I ought to-"Sasuke raised his hand to stop Naruto._

"_You're a coward, using this to get to Sakura. Try wining her by your own strength" Sasuke said._

"_Even if I tried, I can't. She's in love with you. Any idiot can see that. I can't beat that determination. So this is the only way."_

"_You're a bastard." Naruto said._

"_You should listen to Uzumaki's advice. I can make you do something that could hurt Sakura more than you have already" Kaoru said with a smirk. Sasuke growled as he threw a punch at him. Kaoru quickly caught it and kicked Sasuke in the stomach. Naruto quickly went to catch him. "Watch who your messing with" With that Kaoru walked away._

**End of Flashback**

Sasuke quickly jumped as he put his arms around Sakura's waist. The two had fallen to the ground with Sakura on the bottom. Sasuke looked down to see Sakura was crying. Gently, he moved his hand to wipe away her tears.

"Why? If you don't love me, don't chase after me. Don't hold my hand. Don't look at me like that. Don't kiss me. Don't play around with my feelings. Don't pretend just because you know how I feel…please…just don't…" Sakura voice cracked. Sasuke didn't say anything as he slowly kissed her on the lips. Sakura gripped a good amount of his shirt.

"I'm not messing around! I love you" Sasuke said. "Kaoru-"

"_**You should listen to Uzumaki's advice. I can make you do something that could hurt Sakura more than you have already"**_

"Kaoru?"

"Kaoru doesn't love you! I do. You're all I think about, even back at Sound."

"Sasuke-kun…"

"So don't cry anymore. Don't get married to him" Sasuke whispered.

"I can't" Sakura said as she looked away. They were at the legendary tree.

"You can't or you won't?" Sasuke asked. Sakura's eyes widened.

"I don't want to get married to him. I love you so much!" Sakura cried out. Sasuke wiped her tears again as he moved a few bangs away from her face. Again he kissed her as the tree began to glow in the night.

Sakura's eyes widened as she slowly closed her eyes and kissed back. Sasuke licked her lips asking for an entrance as she let him. At the moment, nothing seemed to matter anymore except each other. The more passionate they got, the more the tree glowed.



Before the couple knew it, they were already taking each other's clothes off.

"Do you want me to stop…?" Sasuke asked between kisses. Sakura knew where this was leading to. Here she was with Sasuke and doing this! She had a fiancé! She was getting married in a couple of days! Yet, that all didn't matter at the moment. Sakura kissed him again before moving closer to his ear.

"Don't stop…" She whispered. Sasuke nodded before he positioned himself. Sakura braced herself as Sasuke entered her. She quickly bit her lip while trying to keep herself from crying out. Sasuke could tell she was in pain, but thank god for Kakashi's sex-ed lessons, he knew this was the normal reaction for a girl who's having her first time.

Soon Sakura put her arms around his neck as she kissed him. "I'm ready"

"Okay…" Sasuke said as he began to thrust in and out of her.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" She moaned as she arched her back.

**On a special night…**

**Two people will realize they were meant to be… **

**And their love for each other will become so much stronger… **

The legendary tree began to glow brighter than the stars above, going unnoticed by the couple.

--

Neji and Tenten were on a tree looking up at the midnight sky.

"It's so beautiful" Tenten said as she watched the stars shine, but something caught her attention.

"Hey Neji-kun, do you see that?" Tenten said pointing to the direction of the legendary tree.

"About time…" Neji whispered as Tenten noticed he had his Byakugan on.

--

Shikamaru and Ino were taking a late night walk as Ino saw something glowing from the forest.

"The tree must be glowing!" Ino said.

"Maybe we can make the tree glow next time" Shikamaru said as he nuzzled her neck making her blush.

"Haha okay, but let's make forehead-girl have her moment" Ino said with a knowing smile.

--



Hinata and Naruto were inside her hut as Naruto held her in her arms.

"So was it them?" Naruto asked. Hinata had turned off her Byakugan before nodding.

"It's about time" Hinata said.

"Then probably Sasuke will stop being an ass and be happy for once" Naruto joked.

"Yes, then Sakura-chan's dream will come true" Hinata said with a smile.

"What's her dream? Being with Sasuke?" Naruto asked. Hinata shook her head.

"Making Sasuke happy" Hinata said.

--

Leo had looked from his balcony. "Why I'll be, so I was correct. Those two were the ones who would fulfill the prophecy of the legendary tree. On a special night, two people will realize they were meant to be and their love for each other will grow stronger" Leo said with a smile.

"You're really something" Kakashi said as he sipped on the tea Leo had given to Kakashi and Kurenai.

"It's about time. Everyone could tell they love each other. The only thing standing in the way is the fact that Sakura is engaged." Kurenai said.

"Oh she is?" Leo asked. Kurenai and Kakashi nodded.

"She's engaged to Kaoru-sama, the one with the blue hair." Kakashi said.

"How troublesome" Leo said. "If they truly love each other, not even her being engaged will get in the way, trust me"

--

Sakura screamed Sasuke's name as she finally reached. Sasuke did as well right after her as the two laid on the ground smiling at each other. Sakura moved his bangs away from his eyes as she looked at his onyx eyes.

"I love you Sasuke-kun! Always and forever" Sakura said. Sasuke's hands were laced with Sakura's as he smiled a true smile.

"I know and I love you as well" Sasuke said as he kissed her. The two seemed to finally notice the tree glowing as two spirits seem to fly around the tree.

"Sasuke-kun, the tree…" Sakura said as she saw the spirits were floating around them. Sasuke handed Sakura his shirt as he put on back his shorts. Sakura did the same.



They could hear the spirits giggling, well one of them.

"**You guys have made your love stronger! Treasure it more than anything in the world. Tonight you made the tree glow, and that shows you guys were truly meant to be. Believe in your love, and anything will happen" **With that the spirits went back to the tree as the tree stopped glowing.

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other as Sakura just smiled.

"Let's go back" Sakura said as she laced her hand with Sasuke's. Unknown to them jealous Blue eyes had watched the whole scene.

"You're messing with the wrong person Uchiha…" With that the shadowy person walked away.

--

The festival was tonight and no one has ever seen Sakura as happy as she was at the moment. Ino tried asking Sakura what happened that night, and all Sakura did was put a finger to her lips and winked.

Sasuke had also stop acting like an ass…

"Shut up dobe!" Sasuke said as he bonked Naruto in the head.

Well kind of….

In the middle of the village, a large bonfire was lit as the villager began playing music and dancing.

The boys were already outside and waiting for the girls to come out. After a couple of minute, the girls arrived. Sasuke's eyes widened. He could tell who was Sakura, due to her hair, which was a big give away. He noticed her hair was put up differently but her mask was covering her eyes.

"You look…beautiful" Sasuke whispered to her.

"Sakura-chan, let's go and dance!" Kaoru said grabbing Sakura away from him.

"Karin, let's go" Sasuke said as he grabbed her with him. A song filled the air as everyone formed a circle with their partner as they began to dance.

"You look lovely tonight" Kaoru said.

"Thank you" Sakura said as she kept her eyes on Sasuke who was dancing a couple of feet away from them.

Soon a girl had replaced Sakura as Sakura moved on to the next guy to dance with.



"Hello Shikamaru" Sakura said.

"How troublesome" Shikamaru smiled.

"I didn't know you could dance" Sakura said as Shikamaru had dipped her. Shikamaru just smiled as he soon spun Sakura around as she giggled. He then spun her close to him then out to her next dance partner.

"Neji-kun" Sakura said with a smile.

"Good evening. You look lovely" Neji complemented her. "So much for the mask, your hair is a big giveaway!" He teased.

"Oh shush" Sakura said as she laughed. The two danced for a few minutes. Soon Neji sent her to her next dance partner.

"Sakura-san, you look so youthful"

"You too Lee"

"What a youthful village this is, I wish our village could be like this so"

"Haha indeed." Soon Sakura was grabbed by her new dance partner. Lee frowned before he smiled at his new dance partner, blinding her in the process.

Sakura looked at her new dance partner. He had an orange mask with swirls. There was only one hole for his right eye.

"Good evening" Sakura said.

"Tobi is a good boy" her partner said.

"Okay then…" Sakura said kind of weird out.

"When the long hand reaches 12, get ready" Tobi said as he sent her to the next person.

Sakura was completely confused by what he had said as she looked at her partner, he had dark blue hair, and she could have sworn he had blue skin. Sakura didn't think anything of it at the moment.

"Hello" Sakura greeted her partner.

"Hey, do you know where I can find any sake?"

"Sake? I don't want you to get drunk" Sakura said.

"Feh, what are you, my mother?" he teased.



"No, I'm just someone who cares haha" Sakura smiled.

"Heh…" He then spun her around then to Naruto whose eyes widened.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said with a smile. "Finally I get to dance with you"

"Hello Naruto" Sakura said.

"So how was it?" Naruto asked with a perverted look on his face

"How was what?" Sakura questioned.

"How was the s-"

Sasuke had looked around to find Sakura to see her with Naruto next to him. Naruto had whispered something to her ear as she turned dark red.

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled as she punched Naruto towards the sky. Sakura soon went to her next dance partner.

"Sasuke-kun" Sakura said as her blush increased. Sasuke smirked.

"Finally I get to dance with you" Sasuke whispered in her ear as he nibbled on it.

"S-Sasuke-kun, not in public" Sakura said as Sasuke felt Sakura shiver in his arms. Sasuke just chuckled as the two continued to dance. Sakura looked at the clock up above, in three minutes the long hand would reach 12.

"Excuse me, but may I dance with the lovely lady here, yeah?" The couple looked to see a man in a black yukata with a cat mask. Sasuke glared at the man as Sakura just patted his shoulder.

"It's just one dance Sasuke-kun" Sakura said as she went to dance with the stranger. There was something about him that Sasuke didn't like. The clock had soon reached ten o'clock.

"So you ended up being the last person I get to dance with, yeah" The man said. Sakura's eyes widened as the man soon pulled her close to his chest as he stabbed her. Sakura had coughed out blood as blood began to soak through her white yukata.

"Sorry yeah?" Sakura watched the man removed his mask.

"D-Deidara…" Sakura could tell he was worried.

"I need to follow orders yeah"

"The enemy is here!" Sakura yelled. She soon looked up at Deidara with sad eyes. "Why..?"

"Please…don't make this any harder for me as it already is" Deidara told her.



"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted when he saw the blood dripping on the ground. Two of the dancers went to Deidara's side.

'_T-They were the enemy the whole time?'_ Sakura thought as she felt Tobi grab her with a kunai near her neck.

Kisame who was dancing with Karin had grabbed her with him as well.

"We're just here to have some fun" Kisame said. "Let's get revenge on the Uchiha brat for killing Itachi"

Kisame threw Karin to Deidara as he pulled out his sword and began to drain the girls' charkas.

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted out. Sakura screamed out in pain as Kisame slammed the sword against her.

Kisame signaled the two to grabbed the girls and run to the cliff in the forest.

"Let the fun begin" Kisame said as he tried to stall time.

-

-

-

-

-

-

**Oh my, so much happened in just one chapter. 15 pages, so I hope I can get a lot of reviews on this one. Many things just seemed to get in the way of Sasuke and Sakura. What does Akatsuki have planned for Sasuke? As some of your guys predicted in the last chapter, Karin felt guilty. And I did my first actual sexual scene! I just love leaving the chapter ending with something exciting about to happen. It just feels like a good part to end. Well everyone please review. Now I need to go back to studying for my finals.**

**Kumiko**


	11. Chapter 11: It's over

**Last time on Before it's too late**

"_Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted when he saw the blood dripping on the ground. Two of the dancers went to Deidara's side._

'_T-They were the enemy the whole time?' Sakura thought as she felt Tobi grab her with a kunai near her neck._

_Kisame who was dancing with Karin had grabbed her with him as well._

"_We're just here to have some fun" Kisame said. "Let's get revenge on the Uchiha brat for killing Itachi"_

_Kisame threw Karin to Deidara as he pulled out his sword and began to drain the girls' charkas._

"_Sakura!" Sasuke shouted out. Sakura screamed out in pain as Kisame slammed the sword against her._

_Kisame signaled the two to grabbed the girls and run to the cliff in the forest._

"_Let the fun begin" Kisame said as he tried to stall time. _

_Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

"So you're Itachi's brother" Kisame said as he watched Sasuke pull out a sword. Kisame began to chuckle which angered Sasuke more. "You think that puny little sword can go against my Samehada"

"We'll see!" Sasuke answered.

"What are you doing with Sakura-chan and Karin?" Naruto yelled.

"You should be asking Deidara about pinky. But the redhead, I just brought her for the fun. We were just here for a little fun. But Akatsuki wouldn't mind having a medic and a tracker"

"Sasuke, we'll handle it from here! You and Naruto go to the girls!" Kakashi ordered. Sasuke nodded as he and Naruto ran to the direction the other members went. Kaoru had followed them as well.

"What do you think you're doing?" Naruto growled at Kaoru.

"Sakura-chan is my _fiancé_!" Kaoru said rubbing that fact to Sasuke's face. "And Karin is my friend"

"Whatever!" Sasuke said. "Just don't get in the way" Kaoru just smiled as they continued to run through the forest.



Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Deidara, please stop!" Sakura pleaded. Deidara continued to ignore her.

"You two know each other?" Tobi asked. Karin just gave Sakura a questioning look.

"Kinda, yeah…" Deidara whispered.

"This makes everything more interesting" Tobi said. Karin finally noticed the blood soaking through Sakura's yukata.

"S-Sakura, you're…" Sakura soon cut her off.

"Don't worry about it, I can just-"Sakura's eyes widened when she realized that she didn't have any charka.

Tobi chuckled. "You see, when Kisame's Samehada hit you earlier, it sucked out your charka. Quite a useful sword, don't you think?"

Sakura just growled as she thought about the situation she was in. They were tied up with charka strings. Both she and Karin had no charka. And to make things worse, they were on Deidara's clay bird as they were many feet off the ground. Below them was a large whirlpool with pointy rocks around them. Just great, they were completely useless.

"You won't get away with this bastard!" Karin yelled.

"What are you girls gonna do about it, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"Sasuke-kun will come!" Sakura said with determination in her eyes. "He'll come and kick your asses then give what's ever left to Naruto"

"You seem really confident about Sasuke-kun. What a sad boy he was. Killed his brother with the wrong reasons, I told him the truth about the reasons behind the massacre. Kisame wants revenge on him for killing his partner"

Karin prayed that it was only Sasuke and Naruto coming. If Kaoru was with them, everything would turn out bad.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" A voice echoed through the forest.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

Karin's prayers were not answered. Coming behind Naruto were Sasuke and Kaoru.

"Sakura" Sasuke yelled out. His eyes turned bloody red when he saw the wound inflicted on her.



"Told you!" Sakura said.

"Let's see which one he will save?" Tobi questioned.

"Huh?" Karin looked up at Tobi to see him make a clone. One of the grabbed her and the other grabbed Sakura.

"Which one will you save Sasuke-kun?" Tobi asked. Deidara's eyes widened. Tobi seemed very different, more malicious. The one behind Karin had taken out a kunai and stabbed her, making her cough out blood. Karin felt her body becoming weak. She was poisoned.

The one behind Sakura had done the same thing. After, he had thrown Sasuke a needle. "That has the antidote to save only one of them. Which one will you save? If the blonde and the blue haired guy interfere, I will kill both of them immediately"

Karin's and Sakura's eyes widened. The two knew who Sasuke would save. Sakura looked at Karin with worry in her eyes. They felt themselves going higher until Tobi had kicked them in the back, making them fall.

"Sakura" Deidara cried out leaving the 'yeah' out. Naruto's eyes widened. That Akatsuki member was worried? He watched as Sasuke immediately made a run for the end of the cliff. A snap was heard as Naruto turned his attention to Kaoru.

"What have you done you bastard?!" Naruto yelled as he punched Kaoru in the face.

Deidara watched Sasuke run towards Sakura. He knew the younger Uchiha would have gone for Sakura. The sound of someone snapping their fingers were heard as he watched Sasuke change his directions and towards the red-head. He looked down to see Sasuke catch the redhead and bring her back up the cliff. Sakura's eyes remained shocked as tears were coming down her face. The girl in Sasuke's arms began hitting him in the chest yelling at him to fight it. But fight what?

Finally he realized that Sakura was still falling. He immediately jumped down to catch her.

"Sakura!" Deidara yelled as he reached his hand out to her. Sakura grabbed his hand as his clay bird swooped down to save them from hitting the rocks and falling into the whirlpool. He could feel Sakura shaking.

"He…He chose her…" Those words were all Deidara heard her say as they flew back up. The blue-haired boy, he looked familiar but why? It was soon he remembered.

**Flashback**

_Deidara, Tobi, and Kisame were resting at their campsite until they heard footsteps. Kisame without opening his eyes grabbed his Samehada. Deidara had put his hands into his clay box as Tobi pulled out a kunai._

"_Someone is coming Deidara-sempai!" Tobi whispered._

"_I know, yeah" Deidara said. Soon a man with dark blue hair and blue eyes came to view._

"_Who are you?" Kisame asked as the put his sword up to his neck. Kaoru gulped._

"_I came to ask for help" Kaoru said trying to act brave._

"_Help huh?" Kisame questioned. "Why would you be asking us for help?"_

"_You guys are after the Kyuubi are you not? Let's make a deal"_

"_Tobi is interested" Tobi said. _

"_Excellent" The man said. "The name is Kaoru. Tomorrow is the bonfire crap for the village. The bonfire starts at 7:30. By 8, I need you to kidnap a pink haired woman named Sakura Haruno. She is the apprentice of the Hokage in Konoha, and then kidnap a red haired girl named Karin. Bring them to the cliff at the end of the forest and think of a plan to make Sasuke Uchiha choose between the two. Then just leave the rest to me. By helping me, I will let you attack Naruto-san, even let my village assist you in doing so. I am the Kage of the cloud village"_

"_You got yourself a deal. Tobi is a good boy after all"_

_Deidara didn't like the way Tobi had said that._

**End of Flashback**

Deidara finally understood the situation. He had once heard from Itachi that his brother was in love with a pink haired girl from his team. He also remembered hearing that night that Sakura had been forced to marry that Kaoru guy. But Sakura was in love with the younger Uchiha. Kaoru must have been planning to find a way to make Sakura hate Sasuke. His plan had worked.

Sakura had been glaring at Sasuke the whole time as tears were streaming down her face. Karin had finally fought her way out of Sasuke's arms as she injected the antidote into her.

"Let's go!" Tobi said.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried out. Naruto looked to see Sakura was safe for now.

"Karin!" Karin looked up to see Sakura was calling for help. Sasuke had been hugging her telling her that he had saved her. Karin ignored him as she called Sakura's name

"Sakura!" Tobi had come behind Sakura as punched her in the stomach as she coughed out blood.

"Kaoru!" Sakura called out again as Kaoru stared at her. Now he can make his plan work.



"Now I can come and sav-"Kaoru stopped in his sentence as Sakura called out one name he thought she wouldn't have at the moment.

"SASUKE-KUN!!" Sakura yelled as it echoed. She was soon knocked out by Tobi.

"Tobi is sorry" Deidara just glared at him as he held Sakura in his arms. The last thing he heard Sakura tell him before she was knocked out was "Can you please take me back home…"

Naruto watched as Sasuke's eyes began to change. Karin's eyes widened. He had broken through the trance, but it was too late.

Sasuke looked to see that he was hugging Karin. He had though he saved Sakura. He looked up to see Sakura being taken away by the two Akatsuki members. They had soon turned around as Kisame made it to the clearing. He had jumped up on the bird.

"We're expecting you to hold you're end of the deal since we held our deal" Kisame said as they went away with Sakura.

"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled. The others had finally met up in the clearing.

"Where's Sakura?" Temari asked.

"They have her" Karin growled before turning her attention to Kaoru. "What were you thinking putting my life at risk? You put Sakura's life in risk due to your jealousy!" Karin yelled.

"Weren't you the one who agree to work with me to break up Sasuke and Sakura? You said you wanted to kill her, do you not remember? Since when did you care what happened to her?" Kaoru asked. Everyone's eyes widened as they watched the scene. Sasuke was speechless.

"Jealously isn't right. Sakura treated me like a friend! I don't want to help you with your plans anymore. You can do it by yourself. We're through!" Karin shouted as she slapped Kaoru across the face.

"You little-"He was about to hit Karin but was stopped due to Shikamaru's shadow jutsu.

"What kind of man are you, hitting a woman?!" Temari said as she pulled out her fan. "Watch your step, or else your village will be facing a war with Suna and Konoha."

Tenten and Ino had gone to help Karin up. "Are you okay?" Ino asked Karin nodded.

"We have to report this to the Hokage" Neji said. "Tie him up"

"If you don't want me to Rasegan you ass right now, you will cooperate with us!" Naruto growled. An orange coat surrounded him. Kaoru sighed. He really didn't want to die yet.



Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tsunade was drunk as hell as Shizune sighed. Tsunade must have been thinking about the Sakura/Kaoru thing. She knew Tsunade couldn't help it. Sakura was like a daughter to the Hokage. And to her, Sakura was like her little sister that looked up at her. Shizune sighed as she looked at the cup of sake left untouched. Tsunade had passed out after her 20th drink. One little drink wouldn't hurt right?

Shizune gulped the cup as her cheeks began to turn red. She had a low tolerance for alcohol. She hiccupped as she looked through the window it was night as she saw something flying towards her. Her eyes widened with she saw their coats and the girl with them.

"T-Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said as she tried to wake her up. "A-Akatsuki has flower in their hands." Deidara had broken into the window as Kisame and Tobi followed. Tsunade had waked up as she saw the cup and filled it up with sake as she began to drink again.

"Yes! Sake!" Kisame said as he saw many bottle around the desk. "I like this Hokage"

"Idiot! Sakura needs help! This idiot over here forgot to make another antidote, yeah" Deidara growled as he glared at Tobi.

"Tobi is a bad boy?"

"Yes, a very, very bad boy. Yeah"

"What's with all the commotion?!" Jiraiya called out as he entered the room. "Tsunade, are you drunk again?" What he saw in the room was not what he expected. Tsunade, Shizune, and Kisame were drinking Sake together. Tobi was being yelled at by Deidara who was holding an injured Sakura.

"What the fuck is going on?" Jiraiya called out.

"Please help her, yeah?" Deidara said as he handed Tsunade's precious apprentice to Jiraiya. He soon went up to Tsunade and gave her pill which helped her with her drunken state. Kisame and Shizune had become drunk and were singing weird songs as their arms were on each other's shoulders.

"J-Jiraiya?" Tsunade's vision began to come back as she looked to see who was in her office. "WHAT THE FUCK IS AKAT-"Tsunade was cut off by Jiraiya as he covered her mouth with his hand.

"We have a situation. Believe it or not Akatsuki saved Sakura from Kaoru-san. She's been poisoned."



"Fuck the war, I'll kick his fucking ass" Tsunade said as she began to crack her knuckles and laugh evilly.

"Tsunade, you're scaring the kids" Jiraiya said as Deidara and Tobi had his behind Jiraiya. Tsunade had quickly brought Sakura into her arms as she placed her down on the floor. She then began to pull off Sakura's yukata. Jiraiya's eyes sparkled as Tsunade knocked him out with a finger. Deidara had immediately turned around. Tobi continued to stare as Deidara noticed. He immediately pounced on him.

"Don't look you idiot!" Deidara yelled at him as he began to choke him with his legs.

"T-Tobi is a good boy" Tobi said. Kisame and Shizune had passed out.

Tsunade sighed as she began to look at Sakura's wounds. Man was this really Akatsuki? The poison wasn't that bad, but if it stayed in her system any more than an hour from now, she would die from it.

"Watch her!" Tsunade told Deidara as she went to get ingredients for the poison. Deidara was satisfied when Tobi was knocked out. He crawled over to Sakura as he saw tears sliding down from the corner of her eyes.

"W-Why…?" She whispered. She was sweating which was a symptom of the poison. "W-Why did you lie?" Deidara knew she was talking about the younger Uchiha. He knew it was that Kaoru's fault. He had something do to with that act. Sasuke would have picked Sakura no matter what. Did the snapping noise he heard had anything to do with it. "I love you…so why…?"

"I got it!" Tsunade said as she went to Sakura.

"She's sweating" Deidara said as he pulled out a napkin and wiped her sweat away.

"Why would you care? Why did you care that Sakura was poisoned?" Tsunade asked but didn't look up at him. "I mean you guys are Akatsuki"

"I met her a few nights ago. I was roaming around at night and found myself at a lake near the village they went to. I saw her and approached her. I was surprised she wasn't afraid of me. We talked for a bit. Then she said something that made me…feel weird, yeah" Deidara said.

"What did she say?" Tsunade asked as she began to inject the antidote into Sakura.

"I asked her why she wasn't afraid of me. Then she told me 'No, even if you killed people. I've done the same as well, even if I didn't like it. We're still the same. We're still all human right?' She was the first person in my life that considered me human. Then I…" Deidara didn't finish his sentence as he began to blush. That's right, he had kissed her.



"You started to like her?" Tsunade asked. She began to chuckle. "Sounds just like Sakura. She'll be nice to everyone, and they'd end up liking her"

"Will she be okay?" Jiraiya asked as he had recovered from Tsunade's attack.

"She's strong!" Tsunade boasted. "She is my apprentice after all"

"I'm not really sure about that…" Deidara said subconsciously.

"Do you doubt my medical skills? This antidote will work 100" Tsunade said. Deidara soon lifted up his head and stared at Tsunade with his blue eyes.

"Do you have anything that can fix a broken heart?" Deidara asked her, causing her to give him a questioning look.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The group was silent on their way back to Konoha. Sakura had been kidnapped. Kaoru was tied up and gagged. Karin's wounds had been healed by Ino.

"W-Will Sakura-chan be okay?" Hinata asked Naruto.

"S-She'll be fine. This is Sakura-chan, right?" Naruto said giving her a fake smile. Hinata could tell it wasn't real. Neji was pissed off. He glared at Kaoru who was sitting next to Temari on her fan. Everything was going great with Sasuke and Sakura. Then that idiot had ruined it with his trance shit. Now Sakura was kidnapped by Akatsuki and she's probably heartbroken.

Sasuke had remained silent as Karin tried talking to him.

"It wasn't your fault. You know that right?" Karin told him. Sasuke clenched his fists.

"I wasn't strong enough to stop it. I couldn't fight it. I lost Sakura in the process" Sasuke growled quietly enough for Karin to hear.

"Y-You haven't lost her yet. You can still get her back" Karin said. This was the first time Sasuke had actually talked to her like this.

"Whatever, what's the use? Even if we get her back, she'll go straight to Kaoru's arms. He won, I lose. End of story" Sasuke added more charka to his feet as he went farther away from Karin. Karin frowned.

"Hey, it's not your fault" Tenten said as she had saw the whole scene. "You couldn't do anything. Karin just nodded as Tenten gave her a sad smile.



"We're here!" Temari said as she saw the gates to the village. Once they had reached the gates, Temari had kicked Kaoru off her fan as she gently landed on top of him.

"Whoops, my bad" Temari said sarcastically. The gates opened as they saw a pissed off Hokage and a drunk Shizune waiting in front of them.

"Hokage-sama, Akatsuki attacked us and Sakura-"Kurenai was cut off by Tsunade.

"Sakura is resting in the hospital. Akatsuki brought her here to save her" Tsunade said.

Everyone's mouth dropped to the ground from the news they just received.

"What?!" Naruto yelled. "What do you mean they saved her? They were the ones who stabbed her, poisoned her-"

"Come to the hospital with me" Tsunade said as Kakashi helped a drunken Shizune.

"All around the ninja village

Sasuke chased Itachi

Sasuke stopped and pulled out the Sharingan

Boom goes Itachi" Shizune sang out. Kakashi sighed.

(At the Hospital)

Tsunade led the group in to see Sakura on the bed with tubes inserted in her. Tsunade had ordered team seven to see her first, but stopped them when she heard Sakura was talking to Deidara. Kisame and Tobi were guarded in the interrogation room with Ibiki.

"I'm really sorry Sakura, yeah" They could hear Deidara say as Tsunade told them to hide their charka.

"It wasn't your fault" Sakura's voice was heard.

"But it was! I could have gone against the idea. I-I put you in danger. For that I am sorry, yeah" Deidara said. The boys were shocked. A member of Akatsuki was apologizing?

"He was the one who was worried. He never left her side until he knew she was safe" Tsunade whispered. Kakashi's eyes widened as Naruto just stared at her not able to believe that. Sasuke was just silent.

'_That should have been me who should have stayed with her. She would have been the one safe from harm's way. It's my entire fault'_ Sasuke told himself bitterly.



The door had quickly opened revealing Misa and Mrs. Haruno entering the room while the door had hit Sasuke in the purpose. Misa smirked when she hit Sasuke and made her way to Sakura.

"Sakura-chan!" Misa called out as she hugged Sakura. "How do you feel?"

"I'm doing fine. Thanks to Deidara" Sakura said. Misa turned her attention to Deidara. Her eyes widened when she saw the red clouds.

"Akatsuki?" Misa said. Deidara sighed. People would always judge them as being bad. "Thank you very much for saving my cousin!" Misa said as she hugged Deidara. Deidara felt a bit awkward but hugged her back.

"Mizuki, you're doing well!" Deidara and Kakashi gave Sakura's mother a weird look.

"That's Sakura, Mrs. Haruno." Kakashi said. Sakura's mom gave Kakashi a weird look.

"Who's Sakura?" Sasuke noticed Sakura biting her lip. Sasuke had walked up to Sakura and held her hand. She had quickly removed her hand from his as she folded her hands into her lap. She had turned her head away from Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes widened as he had back away from the bed and walked out.

In the hallway, everyone watched Sasuke leave the room without saying anything to them. Sasuke had soon heard clapping from Kaoru who was leaning against the exit door.

"Good job on your saving performance Uchiha" Kaoru said as Sasuke scowled.

Tsunade frowned as she remembered what Deidara had told him.

"_**Do you have anything that can fix a broken heart?"**_

"Um, you guys have ended the mission way earlier than expected. Deidara, you and your friends are able to leave without trouble. You may have saved Sakura, but if you come to attack the village or Naruto, we will not hesitate to kill you"

Deidara had nodded as he had gotten up.

"Don't give up…" Deidara had whispered to Sasuke's ear as he left the room.

"Kakashi, see to it that they leave the village safe" Kakashi nodded as he accompanied Deidara to the others.

"Naruto" Sakura called out. Naruto made his way to Sakura.

"What's up Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he grinned at her.

"Can you tell the others to leave me and my mother alone so I can talk to her?" Sakura whispered. Naruto stared at her before nodding as he told everyone to leave.



"Mrs. Haruno, Saku-I mean Mizuki wants to talk to you" Naruto said as he closed the door.

"Okie dokie" She said with a smile. Mrs. Haruno had turned around to face her daughter who was looking outside the window.

"Mom…" Sakura called out. "We need to talk"

-

-

-

-

-

-

**I'm mad at Kaoru. Sasuke and Sakura had grown farther apart and Karin finally sees what damaged her and Kaoru had done. I couldn't help but add Deidara to the story. I love him : Tobi had become evil in this chapter. They had ended the mission a bit earlier. They had finished the mission in three days instead of over a week. The end of the month is coming and Sasuke had given up! Everything just seems to be going downhill huh? Now Sakura is gonna talk to her mom. **

**If you guys have forgotten, Sakura's mother has a problem. When Sakura's mother lost her second daughter in miscarriage and the father had left them, it caused Sakura's mom to be traumatized by it. Now as the side effects, she calls Sakura Mizuki, which was what the second daughter was gonna be named. What will Sakura talk to her mom about? Find out in the next chapter.**

**-kumiko**

**PLEASE REVIEW :**


	12. Chapter 12: Lies

**Mother daughter talk. What will Sakura talk to her mother about? Let's find out.**

**Last time on before it's too late**

"_Naruto" Sakura called out. Naruto made his way to Sakura._

"_What's up Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he grinned at her._

"_Can you tell the others to leave me and my mother alone so I can talk to her?" Sakura whispered. Naruto stared at her before nodding as he told everyone to leave._

"_Mrs. Haruno, Saku-I mean Mizuki wants to talk to you" Naruto said as he closed the door._

"_Okie dokie" She said with a smile. Mrs. Haruno had turned around to face her daughter who was looking outside the window._

"_Mom…" Sakura called out. "We need to talk"_

_Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Mrs. Haruno had looked at Sakura as she smiled then went to sit on her bedside.

"What's wrong Mizuki-chan?" Mrs. Haruno's eyes widened as she saw something shine in her daughter's eyes. Tears? Sakura had grabbed a fist full of her blanket and began to cry hard. Mrs. Haruno pulled Sakura into a hug as she rubbed her back in circles.

"I-I'm leaving" Sakura managed to say through her tears. She could feel her mom tense up as Sakura pushed herself out of the hug. "I got engaged to a Kage named Kaoru Sinobi from Cloud Village, but I…I'm still in love with Sasuke Uchiha…" Sakura said. Unknown to the mother and daughter, Naruto, Ino, Misa, Tsunade, Neji, and Karin were in the room listening. There was a wall blocking their view of each other. All they could hear was Sakura's voice.

"S-Sasuke Uchiha…" Mrs. Haruno repeated. She put her hands to her lap. Sakura nodded as she continued.

"Kaoru was going to kill Hinata-chan, Neji-kun, and Hanabi-chan. But he soon wanted to marry me to stop him from causing a war. He wanted me to become his bride. Shishou, Tsunade-sama, had to pick between losing me and having Konoha go through another war. I had agreed to go through with the engagement to protect Neji-kun and his cousins. Not just them, but the whole village as well. They are all important to me and help me become who I am today." Sakura had paused as her mom stared at her. "I wanted to protect you too"

Naruto and the others had a sad look on their faces. Karin, not knowing Sakura that well, wanted to know what she went through.



"I was always weak. Ever since I was a child, I was easily picked on. I had no friends and I was always the odd one out. But then Ino came and saved me" Ino could hear the happiness in her voice. "She helped me become stronger, but I began to feel like I was just in her shadow. Then you had that miscarriage. You and dad were so sad. So I tried to better myself. So when I found out both of us liked Sasuke-kun, I thought this would be a chance to become better as her and made her my rival. A few years later, I was placed into Naruto and Sasuke-kun's team. Did you know how hard that was for me?" Sakura asked her mother. Her mother had stopped looking at her and was staring out towards the window, but she was still listening.

"I was a weak girl with unusual pink hair and a big forehead. I had a teammate who was the last survivor of the Uchiha clan. He had a very powerful bloodline. I had another one who was the son of the fourth Hokage. He had the Kyuubi in him. They were so powerful…they always left me behind…making me watched their backs while they protected me. It made me think about myself. Who am I? Then something bad happened to you mom" Sakura said. You could hear her voice crack.

"Dad left us because he couldn't take your depression stage. You began to call me Mizuki. It was as if you never remembered your first daughter. It was like to you, Sakura Haruno never existed. You don't know how I felt, being called someone else, pretending to be someone else. But having Naruto, Sasuke-kun, and Kakashi there for me was my support. I was always happy. But then that support disappeared. Sasuke-kun left the village. Naruto started to train with Jiraiya. Kakashi was never there."

Naruto had frowned. He had always thought Sakura was doing okay when he left.

"Everyone else was busy with their own team. So all I had left was to pretend to be Mizuki. But I didn't want that, I wanted to be Sakura Haruno. So I tried to prove something to myself. Now going through this marriage can be the only way to protect everyone. It would be my turn to actually do something." Sakura said.

Sakura took a deep breath. She had talked a lot. She had expressed all her feelings and her mother had not said a word. Sakura still didn't look up.

"I had to leave the house. So I asked Tsunade to take care of you. But I soon found out your condition got w-worse. S-So whatever I just told you, you won't remember. You'll never be able to remember me." Sakura soon looked up to see her mother had tears streaming down her face.

"Why can't you get better?" Sakura cried out as she grabbed her mother and pulled her into a hug. "Why can't you remember me? Am I that unimportant?" Sakura began to break down crying. So had the others who were hiding; their hearts were crying out for Sakura. "I've decided to leave earlier to go to Cloud village with Kaoru-san."

Unknown to anyone in the room the mother and daughter had a glow surrounding them.



"I-I'm sorry" Sakura's mother finally spoke. "I'm so sorr-"Mrs. Haruno had fallen to the ground as Sakura tried to catch her mom.

"Mom!" Sakura cried out. Tsunade and the others had immediately gone to Mrs. Haruno as went to tend to her. Sakura just kept on crying and crying as Naruto, Ino, Misa, and Karin stayed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was Thursday night as Sakura had packed all her things. A carriage was going to go and take her belongings to cloud ahead of time. Sakura had invited Kaoru to tell him the news.

"I will marry you. We will leave Friday night" Sakura said in a monotone voice.

"That is excellent. I should get rid of Karin and her friends. She is no use to me now" Kaoru said. He soon stroked her cheek with his thumb. "You are so beautiful" Kaoru whispered to her as he kissed her on the lips gently.

That night with Sasuke had appeared in her mind as Kaoru began to push her on the bed and continued to kiss her. Instead of Kaoru, Sakura was thinking it was Sasuke kissing her, but she stopped herself.

"K-Kaoru…" Sakura moaned quietly as Kaoru began to kiss down her neck. "P-Please stop. Can we wait till the honeymoon? I-I'm not ready for this…" Sakura said.

"You were definitely ready when it came to Uchiha" Kaoru muttered under his breath.

"What?" Sakura looked at him confused.

"Oh nothing" Kaoru said with a smile. "Tomorrow night, we will leave this village and we will get married"

'_But if you refuse, I'll kill you and destroy this village. Or I can just torture you'_ Kaoru thought.

"Since we're leaving early, and the wedding isn't until next week, we have a lot of time to find you a dress and for you to explore the village" Kaoru said as he played with Sakura's hair. "I must tell Karin-chan. Excuse me, I'll be going now"

Sakura nodded as she walked Kaoru out of her house. Kaoru planted a kiss on her lips once again.

"Do you love me?" Kaoru asked. For some reason, she saw Sasuke standing there instead of Kaoru.

"I-I love you" Sakura said hesitantly as she closed the door. She could tell. She was still in love with Sasuke. Her mother was placed in the hospital for a few days. She had fainted after the talk 

and hasn't waked up since. Well Tsunade-sama and Misa were gonna be there to take care of her mother right?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kaoru had entered the apartment as a sleepy Karin let him in.

"What do you want?" Karin asked as she yawned.

"You are no longer needed" Kaoru said.

"Well I already told you I didn't want to be part of your plans anymore. So there's no use in tell me that" Karin snapped.

"Just to tell you, Sakura had agreed to marry me and we are to leave Friday night" Not only did Karin's eyes widened but Suigetsu's and Juugo's eyes had snapped opened. They weren't completely asleep. But they had changed their charka pattern to make it seem like they're sleeping.

"That's right. My plan had worked." Kaoru said as he started to laugh but Karin put her hand over his mouth.

"Shush! You'll wake up Suigetsu and Juugo. Anyways, do you even love Sakura? You only knew her for like what a month or two?" Karin asked.

"It doesn't matter whether or not I love her or not. She will be of good use. Good night" Kaoru said as he walked out of the apartment.

Juugo continued to think about what he heard.

'_She will be of good use?' _Juugo's eyes widened as he immediately got up.

"Karin, we have to save Sakura-san" Juugo said. Suigetsu had gotten up as well. "We need to tell the Hokage!"

"Tell the Hokage what?" Suigetsu asked.

"Remember the day we arrived when we went to see Kaoru for the first time?" Juugo asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Karin asked.

"You see, while you were trying to kill Suigetsu, Kaoru had told me something. He told me what he was gonna do to Sakura-san"

**Flashback (This was from chapter 8)**

"_I bet you're wondering why I asked you to come" Kaoru said._

_Karin smirked. "Knowing you, it's something bad"_

"_Now, Now, Karin. Anyways the reason I called you is because I'm getting married!" Kaoru said as he jumped up and down. Suigetsu had a 'wtf' look on his face and Juugo was probably thinking what's wrong with this guy._

"_Omg! Really? Who's the poor unfortunate soul?" Karin asked. Kaoru glared at her. _

"_I'm kidding" Karin said. "No…not really…" She muttered the last part. "So who's the girl?"_

"_Sakura Haruno" Kaoru said with a smile. Suigetsu, drinking his water, spit it out at Karin who happened to be in front of him._

"_SUIGETSU!" Karin screeched as she punched Suigetsu across the room. _

"_Sakura Haruno? You're marring Sakura Haruno?" Juugo asked. Kaoru turned his attention to him._

"_Why yes. Do you know her?" Kaoru asked._

"_Uh…I heard about her."_

"_It seems my sweet Sakura is famous!" Kaoru smiled. _

"_How did you end up getting engaged?"_

"_I arranged a marriage with her. It's to stop me for bringing war into this pathetic village. I was asking for the deaths of the Hyuga clan's leader's daughters and nephew, but I saw her coming into the office and I soon changed my mind."_

"_So you like her" Juugo asked._

"_To keep it between you and me, my reason for marrying her is to take away the Hokage's prodigy and then attack this pathetic village. Sakura already surpassed the Hokage. She's almost as strong her teammates. So once I have her, I'll use her powers against this village." Kaoru whispered to Juugo._

"_She would never go against her village. I can tell" Juugo said. He didn't know Sakura well, but something in him didn't want her to get used like that._

_Kaoru smirked. "If she didn't go with it, might as well just torture her until she dies or just kill her."_

"_I see" Was all Juugo said. Finally Karin and Suigetsu came back with him all bruised up._

**End of flashback**

"That bastard" Suigetsu said as he grabbed Zabuza's sword. "Let me just slice the guy to pieces and just solve everything"

"As simply as it sounds, you will have a hard time going against him. The Hokage….even Sasuke-kun would have a difficult time defeating him. He may not look like much, but he is to be feared. You shouldn't let his personality confuse you" Karin said. "We need to tell the Hokage about this now"

The three nodded as they went to Tsunade's office. She was working on the contract between her and Kaoru.

"Hokage-sama" Karin cried out as she opened the door. Tsunade was startled.

"What is going on?" Tsunade demanded.

"You mustn't sign that contract" Karin said.

"K-Kaoru-san, he's planning to destroy the village even if you give him Sakura's hand in marriage. He'd use her power to destroy the village. If she refuses, he'd torture her or just kill her on the spot. Sakura doesn't suspect anything yet, she thinks he wants her and she's only agreeing to the marriage now because of Kaoru's plan. He made a deal with Akatsuki to make a scene where-"Juugo was cut off by Tsunade's hand.

"I know about that plan with Akatsuki. Kisame had told me about it. I had told them Kaoru would not complete his part of the deal. But for Kaoru to actually do such an idiotic plan" The three watched as Tsunade had tapped her nails on the desk. Soon the desk shattered into piles on wood, causing the three to back away.

'_What crazy strength she has!' _the friends thought.

"She's scary" Suigetsu muttered under his breath.

"What are we gonna do?" Tsunade asked. "She's leaving tomorrow night and not even Naruto could stop her from leaving. That's how hurt she is."

"Sasuke's hurt too" another voice said. Everyone turned to see Kakashi waving outside as he entered the office. "He's too depressed to leave his apartment. Not even a battle with Naruto or Neji got him to come out."

"So he got it that bad?" Tsunade said.

"What do you expect; he's in love with her. Just the thought of him losing her to Kaoru was depressing enough. But for her to go through with the wedding was just enough to make him emo. I tried telling him to just apologize to her, but his pride is stopping him"



"Same with Sakura; she's as stubborn as he is. Maybe a talk with Naruto, Neji, or Ino might help her." Tsunade thought.

"You guys should try to talk to Sasuke" The three nodded.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Wow, they both have it bad" Naruto commented. All six of them had an earpiece to communicate about how both of them were like. Naruto, Neji, and Ino were outside Sakura's balcony. The same was with Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu with Sasuke.

"Sasuke is just in his room lying on his bed" Suigetsu said.

"Sakura left the room…" Ino said. After a few minutes, she came back. "She's back with a…" Ino's face paled.

"She's back with what?" Karin asked.

"A punching bag…" Neji, Naruto, and Ino said together as they sweat dropped.

"It even has a picture of Uchiha's face one it" Neji said. He watched as Sakura began to punch it. After a few minutes, he noticed a change in her eyes as her punches began to go turbo. Ino's mouth dropped as Naruto's eye twitched.

"She has completely lost it with her anger. She's going turbo on it" Neji said.

"The stuffing is coming out" Ino said as she nervously laughed.

Karin could hear Sakura yelling in the background. Suigetsu sighed. "She's really pissed"

"SHANNARO!" Sakura yelled as she gave the punching bag a charka filled punch. The punching bag cried as it smashed her window and hitting Naruto square in the face. Ino and Neji sweat dropped as he fell to the floor.

"Ino? Neji-kun? What are you guys doing there?" Sakura asked as she saw the two give her a nervous smile.

"We've been spotted" Ino whispered to her mic. "We are going to talk to her now"

"Got it" Juugo said. "We should go talk to Sasuke as well"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke heard knocking on his window. He looked to see his old team smiling at him. He walked up and closed the blinds.



"Sasuke-kun!" Karin's voice was heard from the other side.

"Come on, we came to talk to you" Suigetsu said.

"There's nothing to talk about!" Sasuke said.

"Even if Sakura-san's life is in jeopardy?" Juugo asked. They didn't hear anything for a few minutes.

"Go to the front door…" Sasuke said.

Sasuke had opened the door as he let them in. He had escorted them to the living room as everyone got settled.

"What do you mean Sakura's life is in jeopardy?" Sasuke asked. "Not that I care or anything. But she is my teammate" Sasuke looked away. Karin rolled her eyes.

"You're the only one who can stop her from leaving. You're in love with her! All of us can see that. You're here staying in your house while you act like it's the end of the world. Just because your relationship with Sakura is broken, that doesn't mean you can't fix it. You'd be an idiot if you just let Kaoru get away with it" Karin yelled. Sasuke stared at her in shocked. Karin had never once yelled at him before.

Suigetsu looked at the clock in the room. In just two hours, Sakura would be heading towards the gate.

"We shouldn't tell him what Kaoru is gonna do yet…" Suigetsu whispered. Suigetsu looked at Juugo and Karin as they nodded, understanding what he was trying to tell them.

"You have two hours to think about it Sasuke: Juugo said as he got up. "You can at least try to stop her or just let her go and stay miserable" With that, Juugo left the house with Suigetsu and Karin behind him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"He loves you Sakura" Neji said. The four were in her room. Neji had grabbed a chair from the desk as Ino sat on the bed. Naruto was currently being healed by Sakura. His head was on her lap as she healed the injury she inflicted on his head.

"You're just saying that to get me to stay, and it's not working" Sakura said.

"He's telling the truth!" Ino said. "Kaoru had placed some jutsu or something, so every time Kaoru snapped his fingers, Sasuke would be in a trance trigger for Karin. Karin was in on his plan, but she stopped. She didn't want to hurt you"



"You expect me to believe that?" Sakura asked.

"Why would we have any reason to lie to you?" Ino asked.

"He's pretty hurt you know" Neji said. "He hasn't left his house since yesterday. He wouldn't even accept the challenge Naruto and I gave him. No offense, but you shouldn't have ignored him. You guys could have talked it out."

"Can you guys please get out of my place? I need to get stuff ready for my departure…" Sakura said as she moved Naruto from her lap. She couldn't look at them. Ino frowned as Neji kept a passive face.

"Alright" Neji said. "But at least think about what we said. Try to talk to him or give him a chance if he wants to talk to you" With that, Neji had picked up Naruto and left with Ino right behind him.

Sakura closed her balcony door as she sighed. Maybe she should call Sasuke at least. Sakura looked at her cell phone as she dialed the numbers she knew by heart.

The phone began to ring…

**(While reading this, listen to Lies by Big Bangs, I say it goes with the scene)**

**(Yeah) love is pain  
Dedicated to all my broken-hearted people  
One's old a flame... just scream my name  
And I'm so sick of love songs (yeah)  
I hate them damn love songs... moment of ours**

Sasuke was lying on his bed as he heard his cell phone ring. He held it as he checked the caller ID.

CALLER: SAKURA HARUNO

His phone rang a second time as he picked it up but didn't say anything.

"Sasuke-kun"

Sasuke couldn't say anything.

"Sasuke-kun?"

A couple seconds of silence was heard as he heard her sigh before hanging up. Sasuke stared at his phone. Why wasn't he able to answer? He looked at the clock. 7:30; in thirty minutes, Sakura was gonna leave Konoha…forever.

With just that thought Sasuke left his house running.



Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Goodbye Tsunade-sama" Sakura said as she bowed. "Please take care of my mother and thank you for everything you have done for me" Sakura soon felt Tsunade pull her into a hug. Tsunade had walked Sakura outside the hospital. Sakura wanted to see her mother one last time before she left.

"You were like a daughter to me. Be careful and be safe" Tsunade said. She felt Sakura nod.

"Promise me, you and everyone will try to make it to the wedding. It would be sad if I didn't have any of you guys there. But I think some people are mad at my decision" Sakura whispered the last part.

"Don't worry Sakura, I promise, I'll do my best to have them try to go" Tsunade said with a smile. Sakura nodded as she walked away. As Sakura walked, she passed by her friends, hugging them once last time. She soon headed towards the gates, but people keep stopping her to chat for the last time or hug her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke ran as fast as his legs would take him. He ran through the village to the gates hoping he wasn't too late.

Ino was watering the plants outside her shop as she saw Sasuke run past her with such speed.

'_So he's going…'_ Ino though with a smile. "Mom, I'll be back later"

Lee and Tenten were walking around as they saw Sasuke run through.

"What youth!" Lee cried out.

"He's gonna stop her" Tenten said with a smile. "Lee, let's find Neji!"

Neji, Hinata, and Naruto were complaining about how Sakura was leaving and Sasuke was being a coward.

"That's what he is, he won't try and-"Naruto was knocked down.

"Get out of the way Dobe" A voice called out as the blur headed to the gates.

"You were saying" Neji said.

"Come on!" Hinata said. "We should let them have their alone time. Sasuke will come back with Sakura-chan"



The others had met up with Naruto and the cousins as they told them what they saw.

"Now, all we have to do is just wait" Karin said with a smile.

Sasuke had slowed his running down until something stopped him.

"Kaoru" Sasuke growled angrily.

"Someone is in quite a hurry" Kaoru smirked.

"I don't have any time for your games" Sasuke said as he punched Kaoru in the face. Kaoru had backed up a few steps as he wiped away the blood from his face.

"Nobody makes me bleed my own blood…nobody!" Kaoru yelled as he punched Sasuke in the stomach. "Why don't you do Sakura a favor and leave her alone. You've hurt her quite a lot. She would be happier with me. She doesn't need to be with a guy who left her for power"

Sasuke's eyes had turned red with the Sharingan.

"SHUT UP! You don't know what you're talking about!" Sasuke punched Kaoru back in the stomach before kicking him in the back as he ran away to where Sakura would be.

Sakura had stopped to where a certain bench was. It was the bench he had left her on. He wasn't coming. Sakura looked up at the sky to see the sun was setting and the moon was coming. She soon heard footsteps as someone called her name.

"Sakura" Sakura had turned around to see Sasuke standing in front of her out of breath.

"Sasuke-kun" Sakura had run up to him. "Y-You came"

"…" Sasuke didn't say anything as he moved closer to Sakura. He traced his thumb on her cheek as he wiped away a tear from her face.

"D-Do you love him…" Sasuke finally asked. "Do you love Kaoru?"

"_Do you love me?" Kaoru asked_

Kaoru had asked her this question last night. She had told him yes. She didn't want to get hurt again.

"Y-Yes, I do" Sakura said not looking at his eyes.

"I think you're lying" Sasuke said as he kissed her on the lips.

"No…" Sakura said as she pulled back. "I'm not lying" Sasuke could see tears in her eyes.

"I love you…" Sasuke said. Sakura's eyes widened as the tears fell.



"Why? Why do you say that now? I-I gave you my heart, right at this very spot! You just tossed it aside like it was nothing!" Sakura cried out. "Now many years later, you have the nerve to tell me that, at the same spot?!"

Sasuke winced. What she said was true. He had loved her back then, but he had to make sure Itachi was gone.

"Do you know why I said thank you to you that night?" Sasuke asked. Sakura didn't say anything before shaking her head.

"I was thanking you for loving me, thanking you for being by my side, and thanking you for trying to stop me" Sasuke admitted. "I loved you since back then, but I was scared that Itachi would have killed you if he found out"

"Please, d-don't say anything" Sakura cried. "Please, I don't want to get hurt again…"

"_Why don't you do Sakura a favor and leave her alone. You've hurt her quite a lot. She would be happier with me. She doesn't need to be with a guy who left her for power"_

Kaoru's word appeared in his mind. Kaoru was right. He would have made her happier. Sakura was in front of him crying, because of him. She would be happier with Kaoru. If she will be happier with him, then he would let it be.

"I see…" Sasuke said as he turned his back to Sakura. If he would see her face, he wouldn't be able to do it. Sakura looked up as she saw that Sasuke had turned his back on her. "I don't care anymore"

"W-What?" Sakura's eyes widened at Sasuke's sudden change of tone.

"I don't love you! Don't you get it? Go marry Kaoru! See if I care!"

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura had walked up to him as she touched his shoulder. He had turned around with anger in his eyes.

"Liar…" Sakura whispered.

"I HATE YOU" He said as his whole body shook. He had pushed Sakura away from him as she looked at him frightened. Tears kept streaming down her face.

'_Please, don't look at me like that'_

'_It will be better this way. You'll be happier'_

Sakura had soon stared at Sasuke straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry…" Sakura had soon bowed to him. As she got up, she was sobbing. "…but I love you" with that she had ran to the gates as Sasuke watched her with no movements of stopping her.

**I'm so sorry but I love you…**

**Bye bye….**

"Sakura…I'm sorry but I love you, that's all I got to say. Look everything is gonna be alright, isn't it? So then, why am I crying?" Sasuke asked himself quietly as he and Sakura walked away from each other.

Sakura had made it to the gates. Kaoru was there with a carriage.

"Sakura-chan" Kaoru said as he kissed her. She tasted salty. Sasuke had said something to make her cry. He had got the best out of Sasuke. Sakura was now his. "Let's go"

Sakura didn't say anything as she entered the carriage as Kaoru followed suit.

"We will be there in two to three days. These horses are fast" Kaoru said. Sakura just stared outside the window as the horses began to move.

It was a silent ride for the engaged couple.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Everyone was at the Uchiha Manor, waiting for Sasuke and Sakura to arrive. They had heard the door open as Sasuke entered the house with no Sakura.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. If Sasuke was shocked that all these people were at his house, he didn't show it. "Ah I get it, she's putting all her stuff back right?"

Sasuke just stared at him as Naruto felt his blood turn cold. Sasuke was crying.

"S-Sasuke…" Kakashi called out seeing the tears on Sasuke's face.

"W-Where's Sakura?" Chouji asked.

"She's not here"

"We can see that" Shikamaru said.

"She's heading to Cloud with Kaoru" Sasuke said. Before he knew it, he was up against the wall facing red eyes that belonged to Naruto.

"What do you mean she's heading to Cloud with Kaoru, teme?"

"What do you think it means dobe?!" Sasuke yelled. Everyone was shocked with his outburst. Naruto's eyes narrowed to the tear that fell along with Sasuke's outburst. His red eyes soon turned back to blue as it softened.



Everyone that saw Sasuke's face became silent and knew it would be best if they didn't push it and left. Sasuke didn't say anything as he ran to his room, slamming his door.

Naruto was the last one to leave the manor as he looked up at the moon. "Will things get better?"

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

**Please don't hate me! Things are suppose to end up downhill. I made Sasuke cry!**

**Sasuke: I didn't cry**

**Readers: LIAR**

**Naruto: What's going happen between Teme and Sakura-chan?**

**Kumiko: I do not know yet. Whatever comes to mind. Let's just hope, things do get better, for the story and SasuSaku sake.**

**I might not update as fast, I have summer school. Math analysis (cries). Hopefully I can squeeze two chapters in during the whole 6 weeks :**

**Please review everyone :**

**-kumiko**


	13. Chapter 13: Promise?

**Chapter 13 baby! : Let's see what's going on since Sakura's departure.**

**Last time on Before it's too late**

"_She's heading to Cloud with Kaoru" Sasuke said. Before he knew it, he was up against the wall facing red eyes that belonged to Naruto._

"_What do you mean she's heading to Cloud with Kaoru, teme?"_

"_What do you think it means dobe?!" Sasuke yelled. Everyone was shocked with his outburst. Naruto's eyes narrowed to the tear that fell along with Sasuke's outburst. His red eyes soon turned back to blue as it softened._

_Everyone that saw Sasuke's face became silent and knew it would be best if they didn't push it and left. Sasuke didn't say anything as he ran to his room, slamming his door._

_Naruto was the last one to leave the manor as he looked up at the moon. "Will things get better?"_

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few days had passed since Sakura had left the village. No one had seen Sasuke once leave his house. People would try and check up on the heart-broken Uchiha, but he would ignore them all. They soon gave up and let him be except for Naruto.

Today Naruto had brought tomato for his friend.

"Hey Teme! Look what I brought!" Naruto said as he tossed a tomato to Sasuke. It fell on his lap as Sasuke just stood staring at the floor.

"Man" Naruto said as he sat down next to him. "You need to cheer up and go get some fresh air. You've been stuck in your house for days. Who know if you haven't eaten anything?"

"Ah…" Sasuke said.

"Face it, without Sakura-chan here, you're nothing but a sad lonely man missing his cherry blossom" Naruto said as he stuck his butt out while holding his hands up to his chest and making a kissing face.

"Don't do that, you'll break the mirrors" Sasuke said. Naruto frowned.

Naruto looked around Sasuke's room to see a current picture of Sasuke and Sakura on her birthday. It was during the spring festival. He remembered it like it was yesterday. Sakura wanted a pink bunny and Sasuke had one it for her. Sakura asked him to kiss it for her. Naruto remembered being confused by Sakura's question as Sasuke kissed it while blushing. Naruto 

watched as Sakura stared at the bunny before kissing it herself. Kakashi tapped on his shoulder as he saw him holding a camera. A few seconds later, Sasuke kissed Sakura on the cheek as Kakashi took the picture. He made like over 50 wallet size pictures, making sure he gave a big one to Sasuke and Sakura.

"You know, her wedding is in 5 days" Naruto said. "Are you not going to do anything about it?"

"Why should I?" Sasuke asked. "I don't care anymore"

"Right…keep telling yourself that" Naruto said.

"Yo" A voice entered the house.

"Kakashi" Sasuke said.

"You are needed in the hospital" Kakashi said.

"Why?"

"We have a patient that wants to see you" Kakashi smiled. "Come one let's go"

"Can I come, Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

"No"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I can't believe this happened!" Karin yelled. "I swear, they're the most stubborn couple I've ever met. If he doesn't man up, Sakura…Sakura will-"

"Sakura will either be forced to destroy the village or just be tortured and killed if she refuses…" Juugo said. Suigetsu frowned. Before the three knew it, the tree they were leaning on exploded. Karin screamed as she found herself in Suigetsu's arms.

As the smoke decreased, they could see an angry Hyuga with his byakugan. They could feel his angriness from where they were standing. Apparently, he was meditating from the other side of the tree.

"What did you say….?" Neji growled. Karin shivered with fear as Suigetsu and Juugo sighed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Uchiha, you better open this fucking door or else I'll destroy it with my 64-palms" Neji threatened as he banged on the door.

The door opened as Naruto appeared.

"Neji?" Naruto said as he looked at him confused. "What's with all the banging?"

"Where's Uchiha?!" Neji asked. Naruto noticed he sounded really pissed.

"He's at the hospital. One of the patients wanted to see him, so he's there with Kakashi" Naruto looked at him seriously. "What's going on? I never see you this mad unless Hinata-chan or Sakura is involved"

"We all need to talk" Neji said as he moved. Naruto saw behind him was Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo.

As they entered the living room, Juugo began to tell him what was going on.

"WHAT!" Naruto growled as Neji's eyes widened. He felt a demonic charka coming from Naruto as his fangs began to get longer and his eyes were turning red.

"Naruto relax" Neji said. "We need to tell Sasuke and the Hokage. We have to stop the wedding!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke followed Kakashi as he took him to a room on the second floor.

"We're here. We were surprised she'd be calling you the moment she woke up" Kakashi said. "I'll be outside if you need anything"

Sasuke nodded as he walked inside. The sun shined in the room as he looked at the patient on the bed.

"S-Sakura?" Sasuke whispered. On the patient bed was a woman with long pink hair. He couldn't see her face, since it was facing the window.

"You came, Sasuke Uchiha" The voice sounded older and mature. Sasuke realized it was Sakura's mom.

"Mrs. Haruno…"

"Sakura-chan left …?" Mrs. Haruno asked.

"Yes sh-"Sasuke stopped in his sentence when he realized that she said Sakura not Mizuki.

"I got better, but too late to stop Sakura-chan" Mrs. Haruno whispered. She soon turned to face Sasuke. He could see the dry tear stains on her face. "Even though I was in a small coma, I could remember everything Sakura told me before she left."

Sasuke watched as she showed him what was in her hands.

"She told me if I ever wake up, I should give this to you" She said with a smile. Sasuke looked in her hand to see a fan chain. That was one of the chains that belonged to her bracelet that he, Naruto, and Sai had given her for her birthday. It was to represent them.

**Flashback**

"_Happy birthday Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered. Sai and Sasuke just smiled._

"_Thank you, you guys" Sakura said as she hugged all three of them._

"_Here's your present ugly" Sai said as he pulled out a jewelry box. Sakura took the box and opened it. When she did, her eyes sparkled. She held out the bracelet as she gasped._

"_It's beautiful" Sakura said. She then studied the chains. _

"_They're to represent each of us" Sai said._

"_Yeah, believe it or not, it was Teme's idea" Naruto said as he smiled wide. "I'm the fox, Sai is the paint brush, Sasuke is the fan, and you are the flower"_

_Sakura looked up as she looked at each of her boys. She held the bracelet close to her heart. _

"_I will cherish this always" Sakura said. "I love you guys"_

"_We love you too Sakura-chan" Naruto grinned. "As long as we're always a team, as long as we're always together"_

"_If anything were to happen to us, like if we drifted away from each other…" Sakura was soon cut off by Sai._

"_Or if we left the village again" Sasuke glared at Sai._

"…_I'll return this to you. But that will only mean for you to try to get me back." Sakura said as she winked._

"_Of course we would hag" Sai smiled._

_Ignoring the name calling Sakura pulled out her pinky._

"_Pinky promise?" Sakura asked._

"_Pinky promise" The boys said as they tried to get their pinky around Sakura's. One pinky was missing as Sakura, Naruto, and Sai looked at Sasuke. Sasuke looked at Sakura as her green apple eyes stared at his. He sighed as he put his pinky around Sakura's._

"_I promise"_

**End of flashback**

"…_**I'll return this to you. But that will only mean for you to try to get me back."**_

"_**Pinky promise?"**_

"_**I promise"**_

That memory stayed in his head until he came back to the real world. Sasuke took the chain from Mrs. Haruno.

"I've done terrible things to Sakura-chan, haven't I?" She asked.

"It wasn't your fault. She knew you didn't mean to" Sasuke said. It got quiet but after a few minutes, Mrs. Haruno began to talk again.

"Will you not attend the wedding?" she asked.

"Hn" Sasuke said.

Sakura's mother just smiled at him until Naruto burst into the room.

"TEME! SAKURA-CHAN'S IN DANGER!" Naruto yelled. Mrs. Haruno's eyes widened as Sasuke immediately got up and grabbed Naruto by the collar.

"What do you mean she's in danger?" Sasuke growled.

"I'll explain it on the way, but we have to go to Tsunade-baachan now!" Naruto said. Sasuke turned to Sakura's mother as she clutched her bed sheet.

"Sasuke-san, will you save my daughter?" Sasuke stared at the fan chain in his hands.

"…_**I'll return this to you. But that will only mean for you to try to get me back."**_

"Yes" Sasuke said.

"You promise?" She asked.

"I promise" With that, Sasuke and Naruto ran to the Hokage's office.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke and Naruto entered the Hokage's office to see Neji, Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked. "What happened to Sakura?"

"Kaoru" was all Karin said as she cracked her knuckles.

"You see, the real reason Kaoru came to this village was because of the Hyuga clan. His father was killed by my uncle, when he tried to kidnap Hinata when she was little. The cloud village demanded the body of my uncle, but…my dad chose to go in my uncle's place since they were twins. So many years later, I guess someone in the cloud village saw my uncle somehow and realized that they didn't have the real body. Kaoru had become Hokage by now. That bastard still never forgave us." Neji said.

"He demanded the bodies of Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi Hyuga. But Sakura had come into the office at the time he was talking to me. He then demanded to be engaged to her to stop a war between Cloud and Leaf. So it was to trade Sakura to protect the village and the Hyuga clan." Tsunade said.

"But you got in his way" Karin said. "So he asked me to come and help stop you and Sakura from falling in love but it was too late. It was obvious that you guys were in love. So he put a pill in your food and put you in a trance"

"The day Sasuke started to act all weird?" Naruto questioned.

"Supposedly" Suigetsu said.

"When Kaoru had invited us to his house, he had let me in on a secret. He didn't get engaged with Sakura because he was in love with her. Sure he was attracted to her, but that wasn't his real reason" Juugo said. "Once Sakura belonged to him, he was going to use her powers to destroy Konoha and kill the Hyuga. Sakura's reputation had been heard to every ninja village, so that's when his plan began to come to mind. If she didn't agree to the marriage and destroying her village, he was gonna torture her until she agreed or just kill her right at the spot."

Tsunade's eyes widened when she felt the demonic charka coming from Sasuke and Naruto. Both eyes were bloody red as Naruto's fangs grew.

"Calm down, we will need to assemble a rescue team. I will have Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Neji and Hinata Hyuga, Nara Shikamaru, Inuzuka Kiba, Rock Lee, Tenten, Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo on the mission. I already had Shikamaru come and collect them up to meet me in the office." Tsunade said.

Just on cue, the door opened to reveal Shikamaru with the people needed on the mission but there seemed to be more.

"I want to be in the mission" Ino, Sai, Chouji, Shino, Gaara, and Temari demanded.

"We have enough people in the mission" Tsunade said. Sai had stepped forward as everyone watched him.

"I don't really understand what I feel right now. Sakura still haven't finished teaching me about emotions, and she never will if I don't get her back. Besides…" Sai soon reached into his pocket to reveal a paintbrush chain. "I made a promise to her, and I really don't want to break that promise"

"Sai…" Naruto whispered as he reached into his pocket to reveal a fox chain. "She gave you it back too huh?"

"She wants us to prove to her we can keep that promise, am I right?" Sai asked.

"Hn…" Sasuke said as he showed his chain.

"I want to be in the mission too" Ino said. "She's my best friend, and I would think it wouldn't be fair if I missed her wedding right?"

"I don't want to be left out" Chouji said.

"I want to save Haruno-san" Shino said.

"I want to kill that bastard" Gaara growled. "He will not lay one hurtful hand on Sakura"

"I just want to kick some ass and return the favor to Sakura" Temari grinned. "She did save my brothers" Temari soon ruffled Gaara's hair.

Tsunade sweat dropped as she sighed. "Alright, you guys are to all get ready in thirty minutes. Meet me at the gates. I will have Shikamaru and Neji captains of this group. Kakashi, Yamato, Gai, Kurenai, and Anko will meet you at the gates as well"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**A day later….**

They had finally reached the Cloud village as Kaoru led Sakura out of the carriage.

"Welcome to my village" Kaoru grinned. Her eyes widened with amazement. The village looked really different from the last time she came here for mission.

"I wanted to update the village" Kaoru said as he saw Sakura staring at the tall building. "And that's where we're going to get married at."

"Up there?" Sakura asked. Kaoru nodded.

"Come, I want to introduce you to the village." Kaoru said.

A couple minutes later, people had surrounded the Kage building as Kaoru stood up looking proud with his hand around Sakura's waist.

"People of Cloud village! It is I; you're handsome, powerful Kage, Sinobi Kaoru!" Kaoru said proudly.

'_I'm getting married to a guy who's thinks highly of himself…'_

'**But hey, he's a cutie!' **Inner Sakura said.

"And I'm here to announce special news! I, Sinobi Kaoru am getting married to Konoha's cherry blossom and the Hokage's apprentice, Haruno Sakura!" Kaoru grinned.

Many people began to cheer with happiness.

"Sakura-chan, we love you!" Fans said in the crowed.

"I-I have fans here?" Sakura asked surprised.

"When's the wedding?!" People in the crowd asked.

"In three days!" Kaoru said. People began to cheer once again. "You guys are all invited."

"Um…p-please come to the wedding" Sakura asked as she bowed embarrassed.

"Not only is she pretty, but she's kind and polite" someone in the crowd shouted as they cheered again.

"Wow…" Sakura muttered to herself.

After that embarrassing moment, Kaoru had showed Sakura where she was staying at.

"I'm staying here?" Sakura shouted with excitement. Her room had a beautiful white cream color with matching rug. There was a king size bed with a canopy over it. There was a large balcony outside as you could see the whole view of the village. Sakura went outside to admire the scenery.

"It's beautiful" Sakura said. Kaoru went behind her as he rested his head on hers.

"Not as beautiful as you" Kaoru said as he kissed her on the head. Sakura blushed.

"Kaoru-sama!" a ninja came onto the balcony.

"What?" Kaoru asked annoyed that he interrupted his moment with Sakura.

"Was I interrupting something?" the ninja asked.

"What is it Kyo?" Kaoru asked. Kyo went up to Kaoru and whispered something to his ears.

"Damn it" Kaoru whispered angrily.

"I already sent powerful men from that area to attack them. What are you gonna do Kaoru-sama?"

"Tell the guards to get ready if some of them escaped. I will not let them take her back" Kaoru growled. "You, go take Sakura around the village and buy her anything she wants. Go and find Mimi to help her find all she needs for the wedding. Whatever you do, don't let her find out that her Konoha friends are coming for her" Kaoru soon turned around with a smile on his face.

"Sakura-chan, I'm going to have to do some Kage work. Kyo here will take you around the village. I'm very sorry" Kaoru said as he scratched the back of his head. Sakura just smiled.

"It's okay; you're Kage, so of course you have a lot of work to do. Just make it up to me tonight" Sakura said as she kissed him on the lips. Kyo blushed as he looked away. Kaoru's eyes widened as he blushed. Since when was Sakura like this?

Kaoru nodded as he left.

'**Just make it up to me tonight? What the fuck was that shit? Since when did you become an Ino?'**

Sakura ignored her inner self as she turned to face Kyo. "Hello, I'm Sakura Haruno" Sakura introduced herself to the man in front of her.

"Hello Sakura-sama, I'm Kyo Sakura" Kyo introduced himself as he bowed.

"Haha, no need to bow." Sakura said not used to this.

"Ah, well my job is to show you around the village. We can go find my sister Mimi. She will help you find everything you need for your wedding. If you like anything you see, just tell me, I will buy it for you" Kyo said as he bowed again.

The two began to walk around as Sakura admired the sights. "This village is beautiful" Sakura commented as she looked at the lake that was near the tall building her wedding was going to be held at. The building had to be at least 100 or something feet high.

"This lake has a story behind it" Kyo said as he smiled. Sakura took the moment to look at him. He had reddish brown hair with grey blue eyes. He was tall too. He was at least a head taller than her.

"I heard this from my grandfather, he's a leader in a village, and I forgot what it's called. But it had a legendary tree" Kyo said. Sakura's mouth dropped.

"Your grandfather is Leo?" Sakura asked shocked.

"You know him?" Kyo had tilted his head.

"We visited his village a couple days ago." Sakura said.

"I see. We used to live here together, but he couldn't stand the violence, so he and other people that felt the same moved to a village day away from here. When he was living here, he told me that this was a legendary lake"

"Another legendary story…" Sakura muttered under her breath. "Let's hear it" Kyo nodded as he led her to a bench as they sat down.

"They say that when two people truly love each other, and they're at this lake, it would glow and blessed the couple with good luck." Kyo said. "There's a story behind it but I don't want to bore you"

"It's okay; I listened to your grandfather's story"

"He fell asleep on you huh?" Kyo asked as he smiled. Sakura laughed.

"Yeah he did"

"Well, it said that a man from this village had fallen in love with this girl he met at the lake. He was fishing and he reeled in a girl. He had apologized many times as the girl just laughed at him. They got to know each other as he told her he reeled in a keeper. The two would always meet as they fell in love. One night, he was walking around and saw something at this lake. He hid behind this very tree as he saw the girl he loved walk to the water. He was shocked when he saw her float on the water. He saw her make the water sparkle as she cleaned it."

"She could control water?" Sakura questioned as Kyo shook his head.

"She was a water nymph" Kyo said. "He soon watched as her legs turned into a fin. She began to play a harp as fish swam happily under the moonlight. Caught by her beauty and secret, he fell causing him to get caught. He ran away embarrassed as she was sad. It had been days since discovering her secret, but he had missed her. But he was afraid that she would hate him for finding her secret out. Soon, he went back to the lake and called out for her. There was no reply. Soon a talking fish came and was crying. He asked her what was wrong and she said that the beautiful water nymph was dying."

Sakura stared at the lake as if she could see the man talking to the fish.

"He soon dove into the water to find the water nymph. The fish had led him a cave. There he saw the water nymph trapped under a rock, she was bleeding as well. He tried the best he could to remove the rock off of her as the fish help moved the water nymph. The man grabbed the water nymph and led her up to the surface. He had taken her to land as he tried to fix her wound with the first aid kit he had in his bag. But she was dying. He cried in pain as he told her he loved her. That had cured the water nymph as she survived. She told him she loved him as well as he told 

her he wanted to be with her always. She nodded telling him that when a water nymph falls in love they have the power to make once wish."

"Why does this sound just like the tree legend…?" Sakura asked. Kyo just laughed as he continued the story.

"He wished that he could be with her forever and she granted that wish. So now they would bless any couple that truly loved each other if they were to be in the water. But it's a myth so who knows if it's true? Maybe you and Kaoru-sama should try it. I also heard that if the love is only one-sided, that person that loves the other person will glow." Kyo said.

"Yeah, maybe we should…" Sakura said.

"Well, let's go look around some more"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"In another day, we'll be there" Neji said as he had his Byakugan on.

"Sakura-chan, we're coming" Naruto told himself.

A kunai had come, heading straight to Naruto as he blocked it with his own. Another kunai from the right was thrown, aiming at Ino as Shikamaru blocked it for her. One from the left aimed at Hinata as Shino deflected it for her. Another one came from the back as it hit Neji in the back.

"NEJI!" Tenten yelled as she went to his side. "Your blind spot…" she whispered.

"Shit" Neji cursed. "We're surrounded, stand guard"

Everyone soon went back to back as they were surrounded by powerful ninjas.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru said.

"We are ordered to stop you from heading to cloud" One of them said. He was a giant. Ino bit her lip. He looked like he could kill someone with just one kick.

"I will not let you stop us!" Naruto shouted as he punched the guy in the stomach. All he did was laugh.

"That tickles puny man" He said which angered Naruto. Naruto watched as his hand was stuck in the guy's stomach.

"What the…" Naruto kicked him in the stomach

"Absorb jutsu" was all he said as Naruto watched himself get more absorbed.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said as she tried to pull him out.

"Once he's absorbed there's no coming out" He laughed. Naruto struggled to break free.

"H-Hinata-chan" Naruto cried out as he was completely absorbed. Hinata stood there shocked as she fell to the ground.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered. Another ninja in the back was charging at Hinata with a sword.

"Die" The ninja said behind her. Soon the ninja in front of her began to get bigger if possible.

"What is this?" He questioned as he exploded. Before Hinata knew is someone shielded her from body parts from getting on her. She looked up to see four Narutos smiling at her.

"I don't die that easily" Naruto smiled. The Naruto behind her stopped the sword with his kunai. "Don't touch my Hinata" Naruto growled as he kicked the guy in the stomach, sending him back.

"What is with this" Ino said as she threw a ninja star at the guy's throat. The guy just absorbed it. "They just absorbed everything!"

Shikamaru looked around to see that the guy Naruto supposedly killed began to go back together.

"Naruto, behind you" Shikamaru shouted.

Naruto turned around to see the man get back together. "What! I just killed him"

"I can't die that easily" He said as he punched Naruto in the face.

"There's no end to them!" Tenten said as she hit the guy with her nun chucks. "Every time we kill them, they come back"

Sasuke growled as he turned on his Sharingan.

"They seem to have the power to absorb anything" Shikamaru said. Shikamaru began to notice something. The more ninja they injured, the longer it took them to come back. His eyes widened, they had to destroy each of them at once.

"Shikamaru now!" Ino said as Shikamaru held a ninja in his place as Ino did a mind transfer fusion. She soon fainted as Shikamaru caught her. Chouji was just going around knocking down everyone.

The ninja in front of Shikamaru soon moved and skipped up to him. "Okay Shika-kun, I'm gonna go absorbed some people!" Ino said as she winked at him. Shikamaru shuddered.

"Ino, please, not with that body" Shikamaru said. Ino laughed as she began to absorb some of the enemies.

Kiba watched as Naruto had gotten up. Naruto's eyes were bloody red as his fangs grew longer and his hair was wilder. Naruto roared as he let out an enormous amount of demonic charka.

"Naruto…" Kiba's eyes widened. Akamaru whimpered. The enemy ninja was shocked at the sudden change of charka in Naruto. Naruto had gone on all four as an orange charka coated his body as a tail was formed.

"The Kyuubi…" Yamato said. Kakashi put a hand on his shoulders.

"Maybe the Kyuubi can do something" Kakashi said.

Everyone had backed away from Naruto as he began to run at the enemies as tails began to grow more.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata said shocked as Shino held her back.

"What is that?" one of the ninja asked.

"I don't know, but he looks like a fox!"

Sai watched as Naruto's face began to turn red as his skin peeled off. Soon all at once, Naruto had looked just like he did those years ago at that bridge.

Naruto opened his mouth as a large ball of energy formed like a solar beam. Naruto soon let it go as he spun around. Everyone jumped up to avoid it as it hit every enemy. Everyone went to the trees for safety.

"So that is the Kyuubi…" Gaara whispered.

Naruto began to send claw like charka at the enemies grabbing them by the necks as he choked them.

"S-Stop!" one of them cried out. But Naruto paid no heed as he broke their necks. He let out another cry as the fifth tail tried to come out. Sasuke tried to stop Naruto but he was hit sending him back. Ino, who was still in the body of the enemy, was hit by the blast. Temari watched as blood came out of her mouth as she was bleeding in the stomach.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata cried. "NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata jumped off the tree to run to Naruto, Neji had jumped down to stop her.

"Hinata-chan, stop!" Neji shouted. Hinata glared at him as she hit him in the stomach with a powerful punch that sent Neji back.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said as Naruto turned around looking at her with those demon eyes. "Naruto-kun, please stop. Please turn back to normal" Hinata began to cry. Naruto growled at her as he began to charge at her, which startled her.

"Hinata!" Tenten shouted as Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Yamato went to stop it.

Hinata spread her arms out as she cried. "Naruto stop. Please, I love you" Tears fell down her face as she cried. Naruto seemed to stop right in front of her. Hinata could feel his hot breath on her. Her tears fell on his face as Kakashi had grabbed her and taken her to safety. Shikamaru had held Naruto in place as Yamato began to do what he did before as he tried to stopt the Kyuubi from taking over.

Naruto turned back to normal as his face was red. He was breathing heavily as he was crying in pain. Hinata had finished healing Ino as she went to Naruto and healed his wounds.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata cried.

"Hinata, what you did was idiotic" Neji said. Tenten was helping Neji up. "You could have gotten hurt or worse, killed!" Hinata continued to cry as Naruto's face began to get back to its normal color.

Naruto's eyes opened as he weakly brushed away the tears from Hinata's face. "I'm sorry Hinata-chan…" Naruto whispered as he fainted.

Kakashi sighed. "This is going to hold us back a day, all of us needs rest, especially Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino. Being hit by the Kyuubi's attack can make you weak for a day."

"I agree" Shikamaru said. "We will make camp when we find a nice place ahead." Kiba went and carried Ino onto Akamaru's back. Temari was taking care of Sasuke as Kakashi lifted Naruto on his back.

"Let's go" Neji said as Tenten and Lee helped carry Neji.

--

-

-

-

-

**Taa-daa! What did you guys think? I don't know what's with me and legendary landmarks haha. Well yeah, Sakura had returned the chains to the team and Sakura's mother is cured. Kyo had told Kaoru that Naruto and the gang had been seen heading towards Cloud, so he sent for help. Poor Hinata, but she was brave facing the mini Kyuubi. But that just held them back a day. So by the time they reach the village, it would already be the wedding. Well I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I hope to get a lot of reviews from you guys. Thanks for reading**

**-kumiko**


	14. Chapter 14: Ocean Avenue

**The theme song for this chapter is Ocean Avenue! The lyrics match this chapter well I think. Well I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**Last time on Before it's too late…**

"_Naruto-kun…" Hinata cried._

"_Hinata, what you did was idiotic" Neji said. Tenten was helping Neji up. "You could have gotten hurt or worse, killed!" Hinata continued to cry as Naruto's face began to get back to its normal color._

_Naruto's eyes opened as he weakly brushed away the tears from Hinata's face. "I'm sorry Hinata-chan…" Naruto whispered as he fainted._

_Kakashi sighed. "This is going to hold us back a day, all of us needs rest, especially Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino. Being hit by the Kyuubi's attack can make you weak for a day."_

"_I agree" Shikamaru said. "We will make camp when we find a nice place ahead." Kiba went and carried Ino onto Akamaru's back. Temari was taking care of Sasuke as Kakashi lifted Naruto on his back._

"_Let's go" Neji said as Tenten and Lee helped carry Neji._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**(Ocean Avenue-Yellowcard)**

**There's a piece of you that's here with me,  
It's everywhere I go, it's everything I see  
When I sleep, I dream and it gets me by,  
I can make believe that you're here tonight,  
That you're here tonight.**

If I could find you now,  
Things would get better.  
We could leave this town,  
And run forever  
I know somewhere, somehow, we'll be together  
Let your waves crash down on me,  
And take me away, yeah.

The wedding was tomorrow night and Sakura was still awake in her room. Kaoru had not showed up yet so she was alone. Kaoru had another room somewhere in this building. Sakura got up from her bed and snuck out in the hallways.



"I wonder where he is." Sakura asked herself as she walked down the dark cold hallway.

"So you stalled them?" Sakura's eyes widened as she hid her charka.

"Yeah, those Konoha brats shouldn't be coming any time soon" a voice said.

'_Konoha?'_ Sakura went to the door as she tried to see who was in the room. She could see Kaoru talking to some other people through the crack.

"What of your bride from Konoha?" a man asked who was sitting in front of Kaoru.

"She'll never know what's coming. After the wedding, I'll force her to use her powers against the village. With their best ninja gone, they will easily be defeated." Kaoru said.

"If she doesn't go along with it?"

"I'll just torture her or just kill her" Kaoru said as he looked at the door. Sakura gasped as she covered her mouth. She took back a step as she hit something solid. She turned around to face a dark and scary face.

"Now Sakura-chan, you know it's not polite to eavesdrop on someone's conversation" Kaoru said as he traced his hand on her face before smacking her to the ground. Sakura covered her face as she just stared with a hurt face.

"You were using me?" Sakura whispered. Kaoru went to touch her but she flinched away.

"Don't be like that Sakura-chan!" Kaoru said as he grabbed her by the hair. Sakura punched him in the face as she ran away.

'_I left Konoha because I thought I would be saving the village. I left my friends because I thought I could save them. I left Sasuke-kun because I thought Kaoru loved me. Coming here was a big mistake and I-'_Sakura's thoughts were cut off as she felt a kunai hit her in the back. She fell to the ground face first as she tried to get up but Kaoru pulled her by the hair.

"Are you going to be a good girl Sakura-chan?" Kaoru asked.

"I'll kick your ass" She yelled.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Kaoru said as he smirked. He took something out of his pocket to reveal a button.

"With this button, Konoha will be destroyed. I placed a bomb in the Hokage's room. I could just torture you instead of threatening you, but I don't like to destroy that beautiful body of yours." Kaoru said as he watched Sakura turn away. "So will you help me?"

"I'd rather die" Sakura snapped.



Kaoru just smirked as he moved his hand behind Sakura's neck before knocking her out. "How annoying…" Kaoru said as he lifted her up and took her to the torture chamber. Sakura's eyes widened before it's drooped. An image of Sasuke entered her mind.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered as she saw her world go dark.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke woke up as he looked around. He immediately grabbed his stomach due to the pain Naruto caused him. Everyone was sleeping as Sasuke noticed it was night time. What was the feeling he got?

He was thinking of Sakura once again.

"S-Sasuke?" Sasuke turned to his right to see Naruto staring up at the sky.

"You're awake, dobe?" Sasuke could see Naruto nod his head.

"I have to talk to you about something, but not here" Naruto led the two to a creek near by the campsite. Sasuke looked at Naruto's back was facing him and was looking at the creek.

Naruto stared at the water as a memory came to him, it was the night before Sakura left, the night she told Kaoru she was going to marry him.

**Flashback**

_Naruto stared at the sky as he was on his roof as he heard his phone ring from inside. He jumped down and answered it._

"_Hello?" Naruto answered cheerfully._

"_Naruto…" Naruto sensed the sadness and hurt in the person's voice._

"_Sakura-chan…."_

"_I need to talk to someone, and I thought of you" Sakura said._

"_What's wrong?"_

"_I'm going to marry Kaoru" Sakura said in a monotone voice._

"_What! What about Sasuke?"_

"_He doesn't need to be informed, not yet"_

"_He cares deeply about you Sakura-chan! How can you say that?" Naruto said. He could hear crying in the background._

"_Is he serious? Or is he just doing it because he feels bad and upset, that I'm not going all over him like I used to? Besides, he has Karin. He chose Karin. He proved that to me on that mission"_

"_He was in a trance Sakura-chan. Kaoru drugged him when we were eating ramen that one day. Remember when Sasuke fainted out of nowhere?" Naruto said trying to defend Sasuke._

"_I didn't see Kaoru there."_

"_He did it! I don't know how, but he was behind it."_

"_Whatever, Naruto, thanks for trying but he doesn't its okay…" Naruto heard her whisper. "I'm fine if…Sasuke-k…Sasuke doesn't love me back. As long as he thinks of me as a friend that's all I need."_

"_Sakura-chan…"_

"_Having him truly love me is like asking you to not eat ramen. It's impossible. I'm starting to regret falling in love with him. Kaoru is a nice guy, I should give him a chance. Maybe I should have given Lee, Neji, or even you a chance…"_

_Naruto's eyes widened as Sakura hung up the phone._

**End of Flashback**

"How serious are you about Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked all of a sudden.

"What do you think?" Sasuke asked.

"No, I don't want to think about it! I want to hear it from you, from your mouth" Naruto said.

"…" Sasuke didn't say anything as Naruto began to growl at him.

"Bastard" Naruto shouted as he hit Sasuke across the cheek. "Don't ignore me when I asked you a question." Naruto grabbed the collar of Sasuke's shirt.

"I really hate you right now!" Naruto said. "I hate you because you always hurt Sakura-chan. She has been there for you in your time of need, and you can't even return her a little kindness"

"…"

"Sasuke! I won't let you go on the mission any further, if you think you're not serious about her" Naruto said.

Sasuke said nothing again as Naruto sighed. He let go of his grip on Sasuke.



"You know, I was always jealous of you. You were noticed by everyone, you were strong, and Sakura-chan loved you" Naruto said as his bangs covered his eyes.

"Naruto…"

"I always thought that I could have a chance with her. I really loved her. She was one of the first people to acknowledge me as me, not the Kyuubi. When you left the village, I thought maybe I could have had a chance with her now. I know that was a selfish thought. But when I went on the first retrieval mission, Sakura-chan stopped us before we left. She told us what had happened and how hurt she was. I was going to tell her to forget her love for you, but I stopped"

Sasuke stared at Naruto, feeling guilt.

"She was crying so badly. She was shaking uncontrollably. She kept telling me over and over again that she wasn't strong enough, that she wanted you back, even after what you did to her. I realized then, that she truly, deeply loved you. Her only wish was to make you happy, did you know that? I thought her wish was to be with you or something like that" Naruto chuckled; you still couldn't see his eyes.

"She's been waiting years for you to love her back…She's still waiting even now…" Naruto finally raised his head. He was smiling. "I think she has waited long enough, don't you think?"

Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto started to walk back to camp.

One onyx eye started at Sasuke looking down at the ground thinking as Naruto walked away.

"Good job Naruto" Kakashi whispered to himself as he had also gone back to camp.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura looked around to see her tied up to a chair. The room was a plain white room. The door was very far away from her. Sakura tried breaking through the binds, but it was no use.

"That bastard…" Sakura muttered right as the door opened, revealing a smiling Kaoru as he waved at her.

"Hello Sakura-chan" Kaoru said happily as Sakura just stared at him with cold eyes. Kaoru frowned. "No hello?" He soon slapped her in the face as it echoed in the room. "You need to remember your manners and show some respect. Be lucky that I didn't just kill you. But I could never do that to you. I love you" He soon forcefully kissed her as his hand moved up her thigh.

Sakura shook violently, trying to get away from his touches. He growled as he stabbed her with a kunai. She gasped as he took advantage of that and shoved his tongue down her throat. Sakura began to cry.

'_Naruto…'_

'_Sai…'_

'_Sasuke-kun…'_

'_Will you guys keep the promise?'_

Sakura opened one eye as she looked down at her bracelet to see only her flower chain. Sakura closed her eyes as she bit Kaoru's tongue. Kaoru glared at her as he hit her again.

"Are you going to cooperate?"

Sakura said nothing.

"You're just making this worse for yourself"

Nothing again.

"Don't make me kill you…"

"Do it" Sakura finally said, showing no fear. She didn't care anymore. After that conversation with Sasuke before she left, she knew she couldn't count on Sasuke to come. Naruto and Sai didn't even know what was going on.

Kaoru said nothing as he raised his hand to her. Sakura closed her eyes thinking he would hit her again. But what she felt was worse…much worse.

All that night, people in the building heard nothing but endless screaming of pain coming from a poor little cherry blossom that didn't deserve any of this.

Kaoru watched as Sakura had a look of pain on her face. With one touch, he could make his opponents feel a horrible death.

"S-Stop" Sakura whispered as she threw up on the side. After going through that for hours, she couldn't take it anymore. If it wasn't for the binds holding her, she would have fallen to the ground.

"So did you have enough with your death?" Kaoru asked as he kissed Sakura on the neck. "Will you go through with the wedding?" Sakura felt his hand moving up her shirt.

"Yes, please, just stop" Sakura pleaded. Kaoru backed away as Sakura's vision began to get blurry, but she could see him smiling.

"Good girl... So let's get you healed first then we can have a fun night. I'll have a few maids help you. Kyo will take you to them" Kaoru said as he opened the door as he let Kyo enter.



Kyo's eyes widened as he saw the scene in front of him. There was blood and throw up on the white floor as there was someone on the torture bed. The person's hair was covered with dry blood as it had bruises everywhere. His eyes widened as he saw the person had pink hair and green eyes that looked at him with no emotions.

"K-Kyo-san…" Sakura whispered.

"Sakura!" He whispered. "What has he done to you?" Kyo turned around to see Kaoru wave a hand as he closed the door.

Kyo immediately took her down as Sakura began to cry and cry. Kaoru lifted her up bridal style as he took her out of that room. He soon went to the maids' corner as the maids' expressions were full of shock.

"Please take care of her. Kaoru-sama wants her healed" Kyo growled the last part.

"What has happened to Sakura-sama?" one of the maids asked.

"She-"

"She fell down the stairs. She seemed to be very clumsy. See to it, she's healed" Kaoru said as he was leaning against the door.

"Very well Kaoru-sama" The maids said in sync as they carried to heal her.

"Kyo" Kyo turned around as Kaoru smiled at him.

"See to it that you and Mimi buy all her wedding needs by nine. Remember the wedding starts at 10pm tomorrow night. By midnight, her powers will belong to me" Kaoru said as he laughed evilly. Kyo glared at his back as he walked away.

The next day, Kyo invited his sister to Sakura's room.

"The poor thing" Mimi said as she was fixing her hair in the mirror. She had yellow hair like Ino's and nice purple eyes. Her hair was in a long braid.

"Kaoru-sama was the one who hurt her" Kyo said. Sakura was lying in her bed as Kyo guarded her all night making sure Kaoru wouldn't come.

"Really?" Mimi soon gave him her full attention. "What a bastard! Look at her bruises, some maids they were, doesn't know how to treat a bruise."

With that, Sakura began to wake up.

"She's waking up!" Mimi said. Sakura looked as her vision became clear. She was in her room as two people were looking down at her.



"K-Kyo-san?" Sakura said as she got up.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he helped her up.

"Like crap" Sakura muttered as she noticed the other person in the room.

"Oh this is my sister Mimi, she will be the one to help you with all your wedding needs." Kyo introduced the girls. "Sis, this is Sakura Haruno"

"Oh my! I've heard a lot about you. You have quite a couple fans here"

"A couple does not compare to the amount of fans she has" Kyo joked. Sakura didn't say anything as she stared at the window.

"Hey, don't let it get to you. I'll make sure he doesn't do that to you again, even if I get killed in the process" Kyo smiled. Sakura just smiled at him before she could feel herself begin to cry.

"Hey, let's go and get you a wedding dress and get you ready for everything. First before the wedding, I have to get you ready, so that will take at the most three hours. So we should start to get you ready at 5-6ish." Mimi said as she began to heal Sakura.

"You're a medic?" Sakura asked. Mimi nodded.

"You bet. But I'm not as good as you" Mimi said as Sakura smiled.

"Thank you" Sakura said.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I almost what!?" Naruto shouted as Neji had told him why they weren't at Cloud yet.

"You heard me. I don't like repeating myself" Sasuke said. Naruto's eyes widened as he went to wake up everyone.

"Everyone get up! We have to keep going!" Naruto yelled.

"Idiot…" Sasuke muttered under his breath as he sighed and started to roll up his sleeping bag.

"It's eight in the morning, so if we go without stopping, we'll be at the village by 6-7ish." Karin said.

"Dattebayo, let's go" Naruto said as he began to head forth but got hit in the head by Ino.

"Sakura's not here, so I have to do it for her. Let us at least get ready!" Ino yelled.

Unknown to the group, a surviving enemy had turned on his mic.



"Boss, they got up and are heading straight to the village. They'll be there by six or seven, so you have to make the wedding earlier than expected"

"_**Damn it, alright then, I have the guards ready. I will get my revenge"**_

"Got it boss"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Change of plans" Kaoru said as he entered Sakura's bed room. Everyone sent him a deadly glare as he just smiled as if he was unaware by it. It's like he has split personalities. "I decided to have the wedding earlier than usual. We will have it at six. So go and buy anything. I'll be the one paying it" With that Kaoru left the room.

"Why did he change the time?" Mimi asked.

"Konoha sent a large team to come and retrieve Sakura. So they must be close and he's scared." Kyo said. Sakura's eyes widened.

'_Are you guys coming? Is Sasuke-kun even coming …?'_

"K-Konoha?" Sakura whispered.

"Well…" Mimi put her hands together. "Let's have breakfast, and then we can get the bride ready for her special day!"

"He said I can buy anything I wanted right?" Sakura asked as she had an evil glint in her eyes. "Well, let's go shopping "

After a couple of hours, it was already four in the afternoon as Sakura bought everything she wanted. Most of the stuff she bought was clothes for the orphans back in Konoha, Suna, and Cloud. She also bought stuff for Kyo and Mimi. They had found a beautiful dress for Sakura as Mimi decided to find hair accessories to match. The sun was slowly going down as they decided to go back.

**(At the tall building)**

"Kyo, go and stand guard as I help Sakura get ready. Make sure no one gets in, especially Kaoru. I want Sakura's look to be a surprise!" Mimi said as she kicked Kyo out. As soon as she locked the door, she faced Sakura with a big grin.

"Let's get you ready" Mimi said as she led Sakura to the mirror near the window. As Sakura changed into the wedding dress, Mimi got the stuff ready.



An hour or so went by as Sakura stared out the window while Mimi was put her hair into a nice braided bun. The sun was going down as the sky turned from a nice blue to a beautiful mix of orange, yellow, pink, and purple.

"Finally I'm finished with your hair" Mimi said as she clapped. "Now, face me, I'm going to work on your make-up now"

"Don't do too much" Sakura said as she put her hands to her cheek. "I want to keep a natural look"

Mimi smiled. "Trust me hun, when I'm done with your make-up, it will look like you didn't put make-up at all"

True to her word, she looked like she didn't do anything at all. Due to like light, she could see the sparkles from the eye shadow, but it looked nice.

"You look stunning" Mimi said. Sakura backed away to get a good look at herself. Her hair was put up in a nice braided bun it a white chopstick held her bun in place. The chopstick matched her dress perfectly. Her dress was a strapless ivory white dress that was satin and beaded on the chest area. Sakura smiled as she turned around. On the back, the strings crossed on the back as a nice ribbon was in the center. The dress was absolutely beautiful. The dress was puffy in the back as it dragged on the floor.

"You're only missing one thing" Mimi said as she took out a veil from her bag. She placed it neatly on Sakura's head as she put the veil over her hair. "Perfect. I'll tell Kyo you're ready" With that Mimi left.

Sakura walked to the window. This was it! Today she was going to get married! She should be feeling happy and excited, but she wasn't. She had always dreamed of marrying Sasuke, psh, like that would ever happen.

Sakura brought her wrist up as she looked at her bracelet. She brought her wrist to her face as a tear escaped her eye. "You promised you'd come to get me back, so I gave you back your chain…are you going to keep that promise?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"We're here" Shikamaru said as he ordered everyone to take cover behind the trees as Neji and Hinata checked the surroundings.

"It seems to be highly guarded" Hinata said as her eyes looked around.

"Like they're expecting us" Neji said.



"Leave it to me" Chouji said. Everyone stood back as he grew bigger. "Out of the way!" Chouji rolled into the village knocking down many guards in the process.

"Leave it to us" Temari said as she got her fan ready as Gaara's sand began to float in the air. Kiba and Shino stayed back as well.

"Go and save Sakura. We'll meet you guys there. It should be the tall building, where the wedding is held" Gaara said. Naruto nodded as he and the others left.

They had reached the lake next to the building.

"It's huge!" Ino said.

"They're all the way in the very top!" Neji said.

"I spotted Sakura-chan; they already started the wedding" Hinata said.

"Let's go" Kakashi said as he led the group to the building. As soon as they reached the building, they were met with many guards.

"Get out of our way!" Naruto said as he made a hundred clones as they began to fight the other ninja. Soon everyone was caught in the battle.

"They're trying to stall time" Suigetsu said.

"Sasuke-kun! You and Naruto go ahead. We'll stall time, besides, she's waiting for you guys right?" Karin said as she punched a ninja in the face.

"We'll be going too!" Sai said. Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, and Hinata walked up to Naruto and Sasuke.

"You should go to Kakashi and Yamato" Kurenai said.

"Yeah, she's your youthful student" Gai said giving them a thumbs up. "Come back with her"

"We can handle it from here" Anko said as she grinned at them. "Now go, there's isn't much time"

Kakashi and Yamato nodded as they went with the others. Sasuke and Naruto had already gone inside the building.

"Sakura-chan, we're coming!" Naruto shouted. After a couple of minutes, they entered a large room with many guards.

"You will not go any farther than this" One of the guards said.



"Ha! Yeah right, bring it then!" Naruto said as he crackled his knuckles. He soon turned to face Sasuke.

"Go ahead of me" Naruto said as he looked at Sasuke.

"I'm not going to leave you to fight all of them" Sasuke said. Naruto smirked.

He soon made many clones. "Go; don't let her wait any longer than you already made her did"

Sasuke patted one of Naruto's shoulders. "Thanks dobe" Sasuke said as he ran to the other side of the room and ran to the last floor, where his Sakura's was waiting for him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura had made her way down the aisle as Kaoru was with the celebrant waiting for her to make it up to him. The guests made comments about how the bride looked and stuff like that. Sakura just smiled politely. The sky was now an orange pink as sunset was coming. Sakura finally made her way to Kaoru as he smiled at her. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at his fake smile.

"Now…" The celebrant said as he opened his book. "Friends, Kaoru and Sakura have invited us here today to share in the celebration of their marriage -- their wedding. We come together not to mark the start of a relationship, but to recognize a bond that already exists. This marriage is one expression of the many varieties of love. Love is one, though its expressions are infinite. It is fitting to speak briefly about love. We live in a world of joy and fear and search for meaning and strength in the seeming disorder. We discover the truest guideline to our quest when we realize love in all its magnitudes. Love is the eternal force of life. Love is the force that allows us to face fear and uncertainty with courage. But, you must "be of love a little more careful than of anything." Sakura watched in awe as the celebrant talked about love.

"For the giving of yourself in love is difficult, for you must learn to give of your love without total submission of yourself. Therefore, in your giving, give your joy, your sadness, your interest, your understanding, your knowledge -- all expressions that make up life. But in this giving, remember to preserve yourself -- your integrity, your individuality. This is the challenge of love within marriage. Kaoru and Sakura, you are marrying because you enjoy each other's company and because you want to be together. You are marrying because each of you can grow in humanity and in love more fully while touching the other. You are marrying because you can be more trusting of life as life mates. Keep this understanding of your marriage fresh and alive in the days ahead."

Sakura tried not to frown. They were not marrying each other because they enjoy each other's company and want to be together. Their reason is a tragic one.



"In marriage a family comes into being. Be joyful in your family. Bring to your family an appreciation of the beauty of each other. Bring to your family a sense of comfort and strength. Bring to your family a joy and thankfulness for being together. Marriage is a good estate. Bring to it joy. Bring to it the joy of this hour. Bring to it the enjoyment of each other. "

The priest soon looked at the audience. "Anyone who thinks different, please speak now, or forever hold your peace" Sakura looked at the crowded praying that Naruto or someone would be running up saying "I object". But no one came. Sakura looked at her bracelet. "Liar…" Sakura whispered to herself.

The priest smiled at Kaoru as he smiled back. Finally we could get the wedding over with.

"Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships." The priest began to talk again. Kaoru's mouth dropped. Did this guy never have anything to say?

"No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that – through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together as life mates and partners." After he finished, he soon asked everyone to stand up.

"Will you who are present here today, surround Kaoru and Sakura in love, offering them the joys of your friendship, and supporting them in their marriage?"

"We will" The audience said.

"Good, you all may be seated. Now please read the vows you wrote to each other" Kaoru and Sakura said their vows to each other, knowing that the other never meant it.

"Now, may I have the rings?" a little boy came and handed the rings to the priest. "Please repeat after me: I give you this ring, as a daily reminder of my love for you."

"I give you this ring, as a daily reminder of my love for you" Kaoru grabbed Sakura's hand as he slid the ring next to the cursed engagement one. Sakura held the other ring in her hand as everyone waited for her to place it on Kaoru's finger. That was then the celebrant closed his book in shock.

"Oh yes I forgot the most important part" The celebrant said. Everyone waited to what he was going to say. "I forgot to ask you guys if you wanted to take each other as your lawful wedded wife/husband" Everyone had fell anime style. Sakura slowly got up. What was wrong with this guy?

"Do you, Sinobi Kaoru, take Haruno Sakura to be your lawful wedded wife?" The celebrant asked as he looked at Kaoru.



"I do" Kaoru said as he smiled. Everyone outside smiled as a light breeze came as the celebrant looked at Sakura.

"And do you, Haruno Sakura, take Sinobi Kaoru to be your lawful wedded husband?" Sakura looked down at her bracelet as a tear fell. Another breeze came as her dressed blew to her left.

'_You liar….' _Sakura thought to herself.

"I…I"

'_It's for the village Sakura…'_ She told herself.

"I d-"

"SAKURA!" A voice cried out as Sakura's heart skipped and Kaoru growled.

-

-

-

-

-

-

**Big intense! Haha, I don't own the wedding speech thingy, I found it online. I like the scene with Naruto and Sasuke. I could imagine Naruto actually telling something like that to Sasuke. Well I hoped everyone enjoyed it. Please review and Happy 4****th**** of July :**

**-Kumiko**


	15. Chapter 15: Final Distance

**Last time on Before it's too late**

"_Do you, Sinobi Kaoru, take Sakura to be your lawful wedded wife?" The celebrant asked as he looked at Kaoru._

"_I do" Kaoru said as he smiled. Everyone outside smiled as a light breeze came as the celebrant looked at Sakura._

"_And do you, Sakura Haruno, take Kaoru to be your lawful wedded husband?" Sakura looked down at her bracelet as a tear fell. Another breeze came as her dressed blew to her left._

'_You liar….' Sakura thought to herself._

"_I…I"_

'_It's for the village Sakura…' She told herself._

"_I d-"_

"_SAKURA!" A voice cried out as Sakura's heart skipped and Kaoru growled._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The voice called out as the audience gasped and turned to see who barged into the wedding. Sakura turned to her right as her eyes widened. Kaoru growled loudly.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said as she tried to make her way towards Sasuke. Kaoru signaled the guards as many guards came between Sasuke and Sakura. One held his wrist behind his back and the others' put their swords up to his neck.

Sasuke frowned as he looked up at Sakura. Sakura was a couple of feet away as the guards were holding her back as well.

"Sakura-chan, we continue on with the wedding?" Kaoru smirked as one of the guards grabbed Sakura as another one was behind her with a sword.

"Hurry! Continue now" Kaoru demanded as he grabbed Sakura tightly by the arms.

"Ah yes, do you, Haruno Sakura, take Kaoru to be your lawful wedded husband?" Sakura was looking at the ground the whole time.

"Skip that part" Kaoru said. "It doesn't matter what she says" Sasuke's eyes widened.

"You may now kiss the bride" Soon more people barged in.

"Sakura!" Sai and Ino had run up to see Kaoru grab Sakura and kiss her. Sakura's hands were to her side as it turned to a fist. Kaoru looked at Sasuke before smirking and pulling Sakura into a 

forced kiss. Sasuke's face was shocked as his eyes widened then turned bloody red due to the Sharingan. Sakura angrily pushed Kaoru away from her.

"I'm not marrying you!" Sakura said as she grabbed the wrist of the two guards and did a flip as she hit Kaoru in the face with her sharp heel. She then grabbed the two guards by the head and let them hit their heads.

"Everyone, please leave quickly for your own safety" Sakura said to the audience. The people nodded as they left.

"Sakura-chan!" A voice cried out Naruto blasted through the guards with his Rasengan.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out as she tried to go to them, but Kaoru grabbed her by the arm tightly, bruising her as well.

"You will pay for that!" Kaoru said as he went to strike but stopped when he noticed he couldn't move He looked down and saw his shadow connected to no other than Shikamaru.

"What kind of man are you, hitting women?" Temari said as she sent charka filled wind at him. Shikamaru was shocked when Kaoru was still able to move as he grabbed Sakura, putting her in front of him, letting her get hit instead. Temari felt her blood turn cold as Sakura cried out in pain and flew to the corner. Sakura's back hit the wall as she fell to the ground. Her face hit the ground first as she was coughing out blood. Sai immediately went to Sakura's side.

"You okay?" Sai asked as he helped her up. Sakura nodded.

"Spite your ugliness, you look beautiful right now" Sai said as he smiled. Sakura blushed before hitting him in the chest playfully.

"Now is not the time for you to go and say stuff like that!" Sakura said. Sai just chuckled.

Sasuke was currently fighting Kaoru as they met fist to fist and kick to kick.

"Thank you for coming to my wedding Uchiha. How did you feel when I kissed my wife?" Kaoru asked as Sasuke was getting angrier by the minute. Before Kaoru knew it, he was hit with a powerful punch. Sasuke turned to see a pissed off bride as her bun was becoming undone.

"I am not your wife" Sakura growled as her heel clicked to the ground. The ground split in half a Kaoru fell to the ground.

Kaoru wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "You'll regret that, Sakura-chan" Kaoru said. Sakura's eyes widened. When did he come behind her?

Sakura's eyes widened as Kaoru grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the ground as she bounced off as she hit the glass window, shattering it. Everyone's eyes widened as Sakura fell of the side.



"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried out. Gaara immediately moved his hand to have his sand catch Sakura as he raised her back up. Sakura mouthed thanks as she got to her feet. The glass cracked under her feet as she grabbed a kunai and cut the excess fabric from her dress. The dress was making it hard for her to fight.

Sakura charged at him as they got into a taijutsu battle. With practice from Lee, she was better at it than before. But the dress was still weighing her down.

"You're too slow" Kaoru said as he touched Sakura in the head as she saw her own death again. Sakura stood wide opened as tears fell down her face. Sakura fell to her knees.

"You bastard! What did you do to Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted. Kakashi came and threw a few kunai at Kaoru as he did a few back flips to dodge it.

Kaoru grabbed one of the kunai as he charged at Sakura ready to strike. Sakura made no movement as she was still affected by Kaoru's genjutsu.

"Sakura!" Ino cried out as Kaoru struck. Sakura's eyes widened as she looked to see Naruto in front of her as he held the kunai with his fist as it covered Kaoru's. Blood began to ooze from his fist.

Naruto pulled his fist back as he let it go and hit Kaoru in the face. Kaoru rolled on the ground as he slowly got up. Sasuke ran up to Sakura as he held her in his hands.

"Sakura, what did he do to you?" Sasuke asked as he shook Sakura.

"H-He made me see my own death. W-With one touch, he'll make you like this" Sakura said as she trembled. Sasuke nodded.

"Go and run with Naruto, I'll stay and fight Kaoru. I'll make him regret all the things he did."

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said.

"Not so fast" Kaoru said as he grabbed a box in his hand and threw it at Sakura. Everyone watched as Sakura was sent back near the broken window as she was trapped in a box.

"Time is ticking Uchiha; will you be able to defeat me before Sakura-chan is crushed?" Kaoru began to laugh.

Sasuke growled. "You bastard!" He said as he lunged at him.

"Sakura-chan" Naruto said as he and Neji ran to her. Sakura was slowly getting crushed.

"This was just like Kabuto did to me" Naruto said. "But can Sakura-chan break through?" Naruto pulled out a kunai as he tried to break the barrier. Neji activated his byakugan.



"Naruto, the barrier is filled with charka. You cannot break it with just a normal kunai." Neji began to attack it.

"We have to kill Kaoru first" Naruto said. "Don't worry Sakura-chan, we'll save you" Sakura nodded as Naruto and Neji went to help Sasuke fight Kaoru.

Sakura silently cursed as she tried to break through.

"Why won't you die" Sasuke yelled as he had thrown multiple kunai at Kaoru. Kaoru just smirked.

"Like my men you battled a few days ago, I have the ability to absorb certain things." Kaoru laughed. Before he knew it, Kakashi had appeared in front of him.

"But you can't absorb high charka attacks all at once can you?" Kakashi asked as he formed Chidori and charged at Kaoru. Kaoru's eyes widened as he was sent back. Neji came and closed all his charka points as Naruto came and sent Rasegan to his stomach. Kaoru flew in the air as he hit his back against the wall. He watched as Sasuke came sending the final blow. With all his strength, Kaoru dodged it as Sasuke's hand went through the wall.

Kaoru looked to see Sakura still struggling to get out of the barrier. He had thrown a small object to the ground next to.

Gaara sent his sand as he tried to trap Kaoru but he would keep dodging it.

"Sakura-san!" Lee cried out as he and the others had made it to the top. Finally Sakura had been able to escape the trap as she ran to Lee.

"Are you okay Sakura-san?" Sakura just nodded as Gai could feel Sakura's charka flare up.

"Just peachy" Sakura growled. Sakura ran towards Kaoru with another charka filled punch.

Kaoru quickly dodged it as a large crater was created on the floor.

"You look so cute when you're mad" Kaoru said.

"Is he mocking me?" Sakura asked herself. "Stop messing around and fight me seriously"

Kaoru stared at her as he nodded. "Very well then…" Before she knew it, Kaoru had come up to her side as he smacked her with the back of his hand. Anko had caught her as she helped her up.

Sasuke was truly pissed off to no extent. Anko stared at the young Uchiha he charged at Kaoru non-stop.



"I'll make you regret ever hurting Sakura" Sasuke shouted as he punched Kaoru in the face. Sasuke soon grabbed Kaoru by the arm as he broke it. Kaoru bit his lower lip to stop himself from yelling.

"Naruto, Shikamaru now" Sasuke shouted. Shikamaru nodded as he held Kaoru in place as Naruto made clones to help hold him. Sasuke had formed Chidori as it chirped loudly. Sasuke smirked as he saw Kaoru's facial expression.

"Don't worry Kaoru, this time, I won't miss" Sasuke began to charged at Kaoru as his hand went through Kaoru's chest. Kaoru had coughed out blood. But there was a smile on his face.

"At least I won't die by myself" Kaoru said.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked. Kaoru just glanced over to Sakura as he saw her walking right to where he wanted her to be.

"Say goodbye to Sakura-chan" Kaoru said. Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru turned to Sakura as her eyes widened. They quickly looked at the floor to see a bomb ticking.

"Boom" Kaoru said as he died. That had activated the bomb as it exploded. Sasuke felt his blood turn cold as he watched Sakura get hit by the explosion and flew out of the window. Another window shattered as the glass fell to the floor. Everyone was shocked. Everything was like it was in slow motion. You could hear people shouting and yelling as they ran to the large broken window.

Sakura's eyes widened as she felt herself falling. Glass had cut her in many places. She began to fall head first as she looked up in the sky, it was already night time, an hour or so had passed, making it close to midnight.

Naruto watched as Sasuke ran to the broken window and had also jumped off.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he and the others watched as Sasuke tried to reach Sakura. Hinata put a hand to her mouth. Naruto began to head down as everyone followed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura put her hands to her chest as she could feel the cold air against her skin. She watched as she was getting farther and farther away from the balcony.

'_Sasuke-kun…I'm sorry'_ she thought as she was falling further to her death.

"SAKURA!" Sakura looked up to see Sasuke falling after her. He extended an arm as he tried to reach her. Sakura's eyes widened as tears formed in her eyes.



"SASUKE-KUN" Sakura cried out as she too tried to reach out to him. Her dress flew wildly in the air. Her bun had come undone completely. Sasuke began to get closer as he could finally entwine his hand in hers as he pulled her close.

"Sakura…" Sasuke whispered. She stared at him as he put a hand behind her head and another one behind her back as she felt him hold her closer to his chest. Sakura's eyes widened for a second before she closed them. Her hands were resting on his chest as she gripped onto his shirt.

To them, it felt like time stopped just for them, for them to have this moment. Tears fell down Sakura's cheek as they fell into the lake as the moon finally rose. It was midnight as the moon made the water shimmer.

Sakura felt herself underwater as her dress had gotten puffier. She couldn't see anything under the dark water but she could feel Sasuke holding her as they rose to the surface.

Sakura and Sasuke felt the cold air as the made it to the surface. Sasuke gasped for air as Sakura was crying.

"Y-You came…" Sakura whispered as she cried. Sasuke just smiled at her.

"I made a promise didn't I?" Sasuke said as he showed her the chain. Sakura's eyes widened as she continued to cry.

"I love you" Sakura whispered quietly but Sasuke heard her. She raised a hand to her mouth and nose as she shivered. Sasuke moved through the water as he got closer to her.

"Sakura" Sasuke called out to her. The water was up to their stomachs as Sasuke put his hands on her shoulder and pulled her close to him and kissed her. Sakura continued to cry as her tears dropped to the water.

"I love you Sakura" Sasuke said between kisses. "I love you"

"I love you so much" Sakura said. "I always have. Only you…" Sasuke put their foreheads together as he smiled.

"I'm glad" he whispered to her. Everyone had finally made it to the lake as they watched the scene in front of them. The lake had begun to glow a faint green color. Sasuke moved their faces closer as he pressed their lips together.

"It's glowing…" Tenten said as she watched with amazement. Neji just smiled at Tenten as he held her hand. Naruto hugged Hinata from behind as he kissed her on the head.

Ino smiled as she watched her best friend truly happy. "You finally got your happiness" Ino whispered as she hugged Shikamaru as she smiled.

"I love you Shikamaru" Ino said.



"I know, and I love you too" Shikamaru bent down to kiss Ino on the lips.

Kakashi watched his students as he noticed that they were beginning to levitate from the water. Little particles of light flew around them. It was like a fairytale. This was much better than his Icha Icha Paradise!

Soon clapping and whistles were heard. The couple turned to see their friends and people from the village around the lake. Sasuke blushed as Sakura giggled before Sasuke carried her out of the lake bridal style while kissing her once again.

**Two months later…**

"Do you, Uchiha Sasuke, take Haruno Sakura to be your lawful wedded wife?" Tsunade asked. Sasuke smiled at his lovely bride.

"I do" Sasuke said. Sakura smiled back at him.

"Do you, Haruno Sakura, take the Uchiha brat to be your lawful wedded husband?" Tsunade smiled as Sakura giggled. Naruto patted Sasuke in the back.

"I do" Sakura said. Tsunade nodded as she closed her book.

"Sasuke, you may now kiss the bride." Sasuke lifted Sakura up as she put her arms around his neck as they kissed passionately. Everyone in the chapel cheered and took pictures. Sasuke and Sakura soon walked out as all the women went and waited for Sakura to throw the bouquet.

The bouquet was tossed as it fell into Suigetsu's hands. The girls frowned and complained as he scratched the back of his head.

"Here Karin" Suigetsu said handing her the bouquet as Karin blushed.

"Hey Teme, have you noticed something about Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"I know what you mean" Sai said coming out of nowhere. "The hag seems to be gaining weight"

The boys looked over to see the bride talking to Ino.

"Did you tell him yet?" Ino asked Sakura.

"Tell him what?" Sakura stared at Ino confused.

"The reason for you always throwing up and stuff, I mean to us girls it's kind of obvious"

Sakura blushed as she patted her tummy. "Should I tell him now?" Ino nodded. She wanted to see Sasuke's reaction. The girls watched as the bride made her way to the groom and whispered 

something into his ear while he was drinking some wine. Ino laughed as Sasuke's eyes widened and spit his wine out in shocked as it got on Naruto.

"That's disgusting!" Naruto said.

Sakura giggled as Sasuke looked at her with surprise.

"Are you really?" Sasuke asked. Sakura nodded. Naruto's ears twitched as he smirked. He went and grabbed a mic.

"Guests, I'd like to make a special announcement…" Sasuke could have sworn they saw an evil glint in Naruto's eyes. "Apparently Teme got laid, and now Sakura-chan is two month pregnant!"

Everyone gasped as the couple blushed.

"Naruto" Sakura growled while Sasuke kissed her on the cheek. "Don't worry; we'll make sure Naruto babysits"

Sakura giggled. "I love you"

"I know" Sasuke said.

This fairytale truly was a happily ever after….

-

-

-

-

-

-

**GASP! It's over! I want to thank everyone for reading this and my other stories. It really means a lot. It makes me really happy to know that people love it, or at least just like the story. I really didn't know how to end the story, so up above was what I could think of haha. Well please review, and continue to read my work.**

**Love Kumiko **


End file.
